ORGANIZED TOURS

From Giotto to St. Anthony, so many sites to discover

Padua is about 30 min. from Venice by train and it's known worldwide for the Saint Anthony Basilica.
According to legend, the town was founded by the Trojan prince Antenore in 1185 BC. Padua soon became the capital of the Venetian region. In later years "Patavium" belonged to the Roman Empire and later on the Papal armies joined the inhabitants of Padua. Padua is also renowned for its university, founded in 1221, and for St. Anthony, who spent his final years in Camposampiero near Padua. The painter Giotto, the poet Francesco Petrarca and the scientist Galileo Galilei also made this town famous. The tour in Padua includes the Scrovegni Chapel (for the frescoes of Giotto it is necessary to book and to pay at least three weeks in advance); the Eremitani museum; the extraordinary Palazzo della Ragione built in 1218, with its vast hall which was the largest room ever to have been built on top of another storey; the Baptistery of the Cathedral, with a sequence of frescoes by Giusto De’ Menabuoi which makes for a fascinating comparison with Giotto’s in the Scrovegni Chapel; the university with its first permanent anatomical theatre built in 1594, the Pedrocchi Coffeehouse designed by Giuseppe Jappelli in 1831 for Antonio Pedrocchi; the Vegetable and the Fruit markets. At the end of our stroll we’ll visit the Basilica of Saint Anthony.

Our itinerary includes:

The Scrovegni Chapel and the Eremitan museum
The basilica of St. Anthony
Prato della Valle
The basilica of St. Giustina
The tour of the main squares(piazza delle Erbe, piazza della Frutta, piazza dei Signori)
Palazzo della Ragione

Half day trip: 2.5/ 3 hrs.
Full day trip: 6 hrs.

Must be booked in advance:

the Scrovegni chapel
the old University
the Baptistery

Must be paid for in advance:

the Scrovegni Chapel

Must be paid for at the entrance:

the old University
the "Palazzo della Ragione"
the Baptistery
other monuments by request

Transport: only by private bus