Passion in Padua

It was a short trip from Verona to Padua, only lasting about an hour in the usual formation of van and car. The day was sunny and warm and I had taken the opportunity to wander the early morning city streets to see them one last time without the swarms of people, before we left. 

Delivered to our Best Western Hotel by 11 am we were not surprised that our rooms were  unavailable, but were surprised to find our location was somewhat distant from the centre of the city. We have been very spoilt with the location of all our accommodation to date … I mean the Arena in Verona was spitting distance from the hotel; the famed area of Travestere a short stroll across the river in Rome; and we could touch the walls of the Cathedral in Bologna, right outside the hotel doors; so to find we had a 20-30 minute walk to the meeting point for our guided walk in Padua was unusual. 

We did eventually find the meeting spot and then went for a quick bite for lunch, but with only 25 minutes before the tour and a restaurant where we were ignored, we gave up on the idea of lunch and found a shady spot to wait instead. The guide arrived early and we began the tour immediately, following her through the streets until we had no idea from which direction we had come, nor which direction we would need to go to return to the hotel. 

Donatella, our guide, was very passionate about Padua and obviously very proud of her city. She frequently repeated information to stress its importance … there are 14 kms of porticos in Padua, second only to Bologna; the Basilica of Sant’Antonio is one of only 4 Pontifical Basilicas; the University of Padua was founded in 1222 and is the second oldest university in Italy; the single first floor room in the Palazzo Della Ragione is 80m long and 30m wide … and so on. 

Our first stop was at the Basilica of Saint Anthony, where we spent a great deal of time and learnt much about the saint, queueing to view his relics held behind glass windows with elaborate adornments. The building was huge and the architecture impressive, but I found the most peace in the Cloister of the Magnolia, a lovely green courtyard containing the largest magnolia tree I have ever seen. 

We also visited the Prato Della Valle, a public square featuring a central island formed with a man-made canal and featuring 76 statues of local dignitaries. 

The section of the multi-campus university we passed through contained the lecture hall where Galileo Galilei once taught. 

There was so much information and so much walking in the two hour tour that we were all exhausted by the end - too exhausted to walk all the way back to the hotel as planned, so we found a place for a late lunch, then some of us sat and watched a busking duo, while others shopped, until it was time to meet up with our Aussie friend Ame and make the acquaintance of her gorgeous family, here in the city that they call home. 

They walked us back through Piazza Della Frutta, down a quiet laneway with a quaint market, the artisan’s stalls capturing our interest, before we found the shaded tables of a ristorante perfect for Aperitivo, and a long leisurely chat. We moved on at 7:30 to our dinner booking at da Pino, a pizza and pasta restaurant (is there any other sort?) where we all found something to satisfy our tastebuds.