Padova

Amici,

It has been so long since my last post, but the new semester in Italy is here and I have taken my first trip! It was just a simple day trip to Padova (Padua in inglese) in the Veneto region of Italy and it was lovely.

Why did I go to Padova, you might ask? Well, it is the setting of Shakespeare's Taming of the Shrew! Since I have made it exceedingly clear how much I love Shakespeare, you can understand that this is actually one of the reasons why I wanted to visit this city. I also went to Padova because my good friend Molly, an art history major, told me that Padova is the setting of one of the most important Chapels in art... history.

Prato della Valle

The round-trip train ticket to Padova was a mere 18 euros and took only 1.5 hours. We took a later-morning train because none of us was too enthusiastic about waking up before 8am on a Sunday and we were so pleased that we hadn't. When we arrived at noon, the city had not yet awoken. The shops were closed, the streets deserted and it took us some wandering around the city to find one open coffee shop to drink a cappuccino.

After acquiring the necessary fuel to start the day, we walked through the city for about 20 minutes until we reached Prato della Valle, an ancient square that also happens to be the largest square in Italy and one of the largest in Europe. It is circular in shape (silly, right? ...because it's a square) and had a canal that wrapped completely around the center of it. I discovered later, after seeing a painting of the square in ancient Padova, that the canal is actually not natural.

Basilica di San Antonio di Padova

The square was near an incredibly large basilica that was quite breath-taking. We did not go inside because it had closed only minutes before we arrived, but it was definitely enough to see it's exterior.

Because it was about siesta time (well, what would normally be siesta time... the city was still pretty dead at 1pm), we decided to grab some lunch. We looked at the suggested restaurants online, but ended up just going to a pizzeria because nothing else seemed to be open or affordable. We each spent about 10 euros there for a pizza and water and then made our plans for the rest of the day.

Molly reminded us about the Cappella degli Scrovegni, where Giotto made his incredible frescoes (also known as the Arena Chapel). She explained to us that he was using perspective and emotion in his art more than 200 years before the Renaissance movement would even begin. Needless to say, this man was ahead of his time.

Apparently even in the off-season, this chapel can have up to a 4-hour waiting period to enter, but because this city seems to be pretty calm on Sundays, we only had to wait about an hour and a half. The greatest thing happened, though! We spent only 6 euros (on a reduced ticket for students -- it's normally 13 euros) for access to the chapel, two museums and some extra exhibits. So, we spent our time looking at ancient pottery, mummy tombs and paintings in the Musei Civici before finally getting our chance to stand before Giotto's masterpiece.

When it was finally 16:40 (our appointed time to enter the Chapel), we were told to sit in a waiting room for 15 minutes where they would dehumidify us. This is a technique recently developed, after extensive research on how to preserve these frescoes, to control the climate of the Chapel to avoid continuous deterioration. I WAS SO IMPRESSED.

Then, it was finally time. It took my breath away. These frescoes were amazing. I don't believe there are adjectives to describe how phenomenal it felt to stand there. It made the entire trip worth every penny. Nothing could ruin this trip.

Once we finished there, it was about 5:45 and we knew we had about an hour to kill before we'd have to head back to the train station. So, we went to the other museum our ticket allowed us entry: Il Palazzo Zuckermann. This palace had ancient china, old clothes, furniture and even jewelry. It was such a wonderful place. I really enjoyed myself.

Padova proved to be quite a successful day trip! It was random and planned two days prior, but I must say, it was unforgettable. And of course, because it is in Veneto, there were canals! I love water.

Here are some more photos:

I'll be posting soon about my new job and internship! I'm having an eventful semester!

<3, Ciao for now!