What to see in Padua

Piazza Cavour

Valaresso Arch

The Arco Vallaresso is a monument in Padua built by Giovan Battista della Scala in 1632 in honor of Alvise Vallaresso, a Venetian captain in Padua (the position was equivalent to that of a prefect).
The arch honors the efforts made by...

Carrarese Castle

In the Cronaca Carrarese, Andrea Gatari informs us that Francesco the Elder, fearing for his life, decided 'to make a castled fort in the city, and having counsel from a valiant engineer, named Maestro Nicolo della Bellanda - they decided to...

Church of San Canziano (or Santa Rita)

Church of San Gaetano

Church of Sant'Andrea

The church, dedicated to Saint Andrew the Apostle, was built before 1130 and in 1640 was completely rebuilt, changing its layout. From 1875 the single nave was transformed into three naves, separated by Corinthian columns.

It preserves the...

Church of St. Catherine

Church of Santa Lucia

Church of Santa Maria dei Servi

In 1372, Fina Buzzaccarini, wife of Francesco I of Carrara, inaugurated the construction of the Church of St. Mary of the Servites. The church was built on the former location of the house of Nicolo da Carrara, which was demolished. Nicolo was a...

Loggia of the Carrara Palace

The term Carraresi Royal Palace refers today to a building erected by Ubertino between 1339 and 1343 to serve as residence, and today occupied by the Galilean Academy of Science, Letters and Arts. Originally the Palace was a citadel surrounded by...

Loggia and Odeo Cornaro

The first instance in Italy of a multimedia complex. The Cornaro Loggia and Odeo are one of the main monuments of the Renaissance in Padua. Commissioned by one of the greatest patrons of 16th-century Padua, Alvise Cornaro, they were part of a...

St. Michael's Oratory

St. Michael's Oratory is all that remains of an ancient church once dedicated either to St. Michael or the archangel saints. The foundations probably date back to the era of the Byzantine fortifications, between 569 and 602. The history of the...

Palazzo Zabarella

The location of Palazzo Zabarella is rich in history. Archaeological research in the 1980s and 1990s revealed the remains of a paleo-Venetian structure dating to the 8th century BC and the remains of mosaic flooring from the Roman era. The...

Antenor's Tomb

Walls

In the 14th century Giovanni da Nono described the wall surrounding the Padua's nucleus, erected in the late 1200s and early 1300s at the centre of the river island, as a 'most beautiful wall' in the layout of a horseshoe. The map of the muraglie...

Casa Canonicale Petrarca

About two months after his arrival in Padua, Jacopo II intervened to provide Petrarch with a quiet home suitable for study and conservation, with a small garden and a well. Bishop Hildebrand Conti provided the necessary mediation: the house...

Church and Pinacoteca di San Tommaso Becket

Erected in the 17th century on pre-existing structures, it is one of the city's baroque jewels. The church was ruled until 1890 by the secular priests of San Filippo Neri.
Inside are works by A. Bonazza, Bonaccorsi, Ferrari, Pellizzari,...

Jewish ghetto

The first permanent presence of Jewish people in the city is dated to the 12th century. It was not till the 13th century, by which time Jews were fully accepted at the University, that this community also took on the previous roles of the...

Museum of the Risorgimento and the Contemporary Age

Shrine of the Arcella

Tower of the Gatta (or Codalunga)

Abbey of Santo Stefano - Due Carrare

In 1027, Litolfo da Carrara donated two fields of arable land and pasture for the construction of a church and Benedictine monastery. He also ceded 13 nearby farms to the order, thus permitting the community a dignified...

Castle of Monselice

During the High Medieval, Monselice was a comitatus, with Este and Padua under its government. Monselice fell into the hands of Ezzelino da Romano, who ceded it to the Holy Roman Emperor, Frederic II of Swabia. Ezzelino had earlier married the...

Insectarium - Esapolis

Esapolis is an insectarium located in Padua, Italy, created through a collaboration between the Province of Padua and private initiatives. Covering an area of 2500 square meters, it is the largest exhibition facility in Italy dedicated to this...

Astrary Watch

Ognissanti Gate (or Portello)

Pontecorvo Gate (or Porta Liviana)

The ancient Southern gate to the city and the entrance to the historic Contrada Antenore.
The door owes its name to the adjoining Pontecorvo bridge, an old Roman infrastructure with 3 arcades dating back to 120-130 AD which was then widened,...

Porta San Giovanni

Holy Cross Gate

Door Savonarola

Sanctuary of Leopoldo Mandic

The Sanctuary dedicated to the life and works of the pious confessor of the city. The Church, dating back to the beginning of the 19th century, is part of a monastery complex of the order of Capuchin friars which includes also the Sanctuary of...

Casa Riello

A stone on the front of the house at No. 11, Via Dante indicates that it was built in 1383 by Montorso Montorsi, a relation of Francesco the Elder the stone was placed in 1872, by the restorer Angelo Riello. Montorso, the son of Guglielmo...

Baluardo Santa Croce

Chain Bastion

St. John's Bastion

Santa Giustina Bastion

Casa Bonaffari

Bonaffari Palace is one of the few homes remaining of those originally built by the Carraresi family and its collaborators. It is situated in a central position on Piazza del Duomo, immediately in front of the basilica. The original exterior...

Customs House

The Casa della Dogana (Customs House) is considered as one of the most beautiful Romanic buildings in Padua, and has benefitted from a complete and accurate restoration. It was built near the medieval Gate of San Giovanni delle Navi, in 1294,...

Este Castle

The Castello d'Este ( castle of the Este') was built by Ubertino, signore of Padua, beginning in 1338, on the ruins of the 11th century castle of Alberto Azzo II d'Este. Seemingly impregnable, the Azzo castle was destroyed through the betrayal of...

Castle of San Martino della Vaneza

The tower of Castle San Martino della Vaneza can be seen from afar, in its setting of tall trees next to the flow of the Bacchiglione, at Cervarese Santa Croce. This was the location of a travel route used since ancient times and the site of a...