PADOVA TOUR
Not tired yet of cultural heritage experience?
Padua is the right place.
12:50 Your guide will be waiting for you at the reception, near EME2016 staff desk, in the main lobby of the hotel.
13:00 departure by private coach from hotel BHR to Padua. Arrival in Padua visit of this beautiful old town center.
Padua has many old palaces and monuments. The waking tour will pass by Prato della Valle, the famous Basilica of Saint Anthony, old town with Palazzo della Ragione, Caffè Pedrocchi, University, Piazza delle Erbe, Piazza della Frutta and Scrovegni Chapel.
We stop for the visit at the Scrovegni Chapel, masterpiece of the Italian and European painting of the fourteenth century. The Chapel is regarded as the most complete cycle of frescoes ever made by the great Tuscan master Giotto as an established artist. Colour and light, poetry and pathos. Man and God. The feeling of nature and History, humanity and faith have been blended together to tell the tales of Virgin Mary and Jesus in a unique, unequaled way.
The pictorial cycle of the Chapel is developed through three main themes: the episodes of Gioacchino and Anna’s lives (panels 1-6), the episodes of Maria’s life (panels 7 – 13), episodes of the life and death of Jesus Christ.
Under these frescoes 14 panels show the allegories of Vices and Virtues.
Other important monuments in Padua:
Basilica del Santo: the present Basilica is mainly the result of three rebuildings which have followed one after the other in the space of around seventy years: 1238 – 1310. At the time of St Anthony the small Church Santa Maria Mater Domini was here, later on it became a part of the Basilica, corresponding to the Chapel of the Madonna Mora. The Monastery of the Franciscans, probably founded by St Anthony himself in 1229, was close to the small Church.
After the death of St Anthony in a monastery of Clarisse nouns in Arcella, a suburb of Padua, in 1231, his body was – according to his wish – deposited in a marble tomb and buried in the Church of Santa Maria Mater Domini.
The first portion of the Basilica, a Franciscan church, with only one nave and short apse, was started in 1238; two side aisles were added later on, up to the marvelous building we can admire today
Palazzo della Ragione: the imposing mass of the Palazzo della Ragione rises since the medieval time in the heart of the business life of the city. It was the ancient Law Courts where justice was administered. It was built starting from 1218 and than enlarged thanks to the intervention of Fra’ Giovanni degli Eremitani between 1306 and 1309. The first cycle of frescoes were mainly lost due to a fire in the 1420. Nowadays the interior is decorated with a cycle of frescoes inspired by the writings of Pietro d’Abano. The Palace rises in between the two so-called “twin-squares”, Piazza della Frutta and Piazza delle Erbe, where the market takes place still today as in the Middle Ages.
Caffè Pedrocchi: The Coffee House, a few steps from the historical University location, was created by the ingenious intuition of Antonio Pedrocchi who trasformed the little coffee shop inherited from his father, into a trendy institution, open day and night, so that it became the “coffee-house with no doors”. Thanks to the elegant plans by architect Jappelli, the coffee-house soon became the favourite meeting place for men of letters, poets, patriots, but at the same time, it gave hospitality to businessmen and occasional visitors. The first floor was open in 1842 for the IV Italian Scientists’ Congress and hosted parties, balls, business meetings and other social events. Every room is named after its particular decoration style. Today it is a museum.
Return to your hotel in the afternoon. Arrival by 18:30, in time for your special night!
Very important:
Please be ready at the reception near our desk 10 minutes ahead of schedules at the latest. Kindly wait for the tour leader to form the group and call for your party name (that may be the name of the delegate and not yours, even if not participating to the tour). For all tours, we suggest use of sneakers or walking open shoes and light clothing. A hat and sunscreen will be a good idea if the sun is shining. Do not forget to bring some drinking water, backpack and extra cash, since credit cards are not always accepted. Entrance in the museums and in some churches you may want to visit (if not already included in the program) are subject to a dress code, and often require a fee.
Enjoy your guided walk in Padua!
Euro 58,00 (last seats available on request)
Entrance Scrovegni Chapel Euro 13,00 pp included in the above rate