Padua was a town we all liked, from our accommodations, to the LDS ward, to the sites of the town itself. The place we rented was out of the city of Padua, but was a lovely place, with flowers, dogs (nice and not nice), and country space and air.
The host also had lovely roses (so watch out, you know I took photos of them). The host also had some new puppies, but I neglected to take a picture of them.
We also enjoyed the ward in Padua. They were friendly, reverent during Sacrament meeting, had a new convert to confirm that day (whose last name sounded Italian), and members that gave us great suggestions of where to eat and what to visit.
They were announcing a special grandparents day; we wished we were going to be there to join in. It seemed like an excellent idea.
One of the main sites to see in Padua besides the Scrovegni Chapel, which I have already posted about, is the Basilica of St. Anthony, a church belonging to the Vatican, and technically outside of Italy. We entered through the Mercy door, this being a special Year of Mercy, as declared by the Pope. Many people were there on pilgrimages. We were not allowed to take photos inside the Basilica, so you get this photo from outside. (But I recommend we all take time to seek mercy from the Lord of Hosts.)
In the courtyard outside the church, was a sculpture of St. Anthony, shown with a child in the air. According to the sign near the statue, St. Anthony is an “intercessor between Heaven (the Christ Child) and humankind” (parentheses in original). The second statue on the right is by Donatello, and is Gattamelata, a Venetian general. (Okay, I haven’t heard of the general either, but the sculpture is to be admired.)
Pauda is an ancient town, with some claim to having been established earlier than 1000 BC. Padua also has a fairly (in comparison to the age of the town) ancient university. The university was founded in 1222 and is among the ten oldest in the world. It has been a prominent university for hundreds of years. The first photo on top is the university entrance with the store. The second one is entering the hall of honored alumni.
You could walk around campus, and see, as mentioned above, this hall that honored some of the highly accomplished alumni and faculty, including Copernicus and Galileo. The Padua University website also claims as an alumni the first woman, Elena Lucrezia Cornaro Piscopia, to be awarded a university degree (1678).
We liked the flavor and feel of all of this very old city. Here are a few photos from around the city center where we walked. We enjoyed the general feel of the town; it has a nice ambiance, better than my photos show.
The Caffè Pedrocchi (below), the building in the background with the white columns, was built in 1831 (new, in Italian terms). For many years, it has always been open (24 hours/day). It has a section where you can sit and rest without ordering anything from the cafe (which we made use of after walking through the town).
We went to a couple of museums. One museum, the Palazzo Zuckermann, part of the Civic Museums, had an interesting combination of objects of everyday life with the more usual paintings and sculptures. First, some photos of (undated) lace but made sometime during the 1600-1700s.
A collection of other items–watches, fans, and a music box.
And, of course, the necessary swords and guns.
The museum also had a great collection of coins, which collection is good enough to deserve a blog by themselves. Watch for it, but here is a first look.
With a few examples of more traditional museum art, here are three delightful sculptures of children.
The museum even had a painting about immigration to the United States. Note the flag on the ship.The sign on the painting said it was of emigrants embarking to San Francisco.
Finally, some additional photos of the wonderful park near the Scrovengi Chapel.
Put Padua on your list of places to visit on a tour of Italy. And enjoy the roses.
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