Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
In the same grounds as the Scrovegni Chapel, the ancient monastic cloisters of
the Eremitani have become the
Musei Civici Eremitani,
which has a prestigious
archaeological collection on the ground floor, and a gallery of works by the
Venetian masters upstairs; Titian, Tiepolo, and Tintoretto are all featured, as are
Bellini and Giorgione. Downstairs, there is a multimedia room, where you can
watch a short documentary about Giotto and the Scrovegni Chapel, and learn
about the career of the artist using various interactive exhibits.
The Eremitani friars were responsible for services at the nearby Eremitani
Church, which you can visit to see lively frescoes by Guariento and Giusto de'
Menabuoi (14th c.), as well as works by a young Andrea Mantegna (15th c.).
Entrance to the ticket office in the Musei Civici Eremitani complex is well
signposted; this is where you can buy the money-saving PadovaCard (see box
above). Alternatively, you'll pay
12 for joint admission to the chapel and the
museums, including a mandatory
€
1 reservation fee. When purchasing your
ticket, you must book a specific time for your chapel visit—be on time or you'll
lose your chance to visit. The chapel is open 9am to 7pm year-round (excluding
Jan 1, Dec 25-26, and May 1). In summer you can visit the chapel until 10pm;
visits from 7 to 10pm cost
€
8. There's also a “Double Turn” promotional ticket
for
€
1 reservation fee; it's valid from 7 to 9:30pm and entitles the
holder to spend 30 minutes in the chapel. When it gets busy, you may need to
reserve a day in advance, but I've had no problem turning up in summer and get-
ting an immediate chapel visit. The ticket office is open daily 9am to 7pm
(Feb-Oct) and 9am-6pm (Nov-Jan).
Around the City Squares
A top activity in Padua is simply wandering from one lively square to the next;
this will give you a strong sense of the very public lives led by the people who have
populated Padua over the centuries. The
piazze
are where students gather between
lectures, or to plot their evening on the town, which often starts out at one of the
many bars or cafes.
By far the most famous cafe in town—and one of the most historically signif-
icant in Italy—is
Caffè Pedrocchi
€
11 plus
€
(Via VIII Febbraio, 15;
%
049-8781231),
recognizable by its striking neoclassical entranceway guarded by two cheerless
stone lions (it looks to me somewhat like an ancient temple). Designed in 1831 by
Venetian architect, Giuseppe Jappelli, it was commissioned by Antonio Pedrocchi,
a well-known cafe owner. It was here that students launched an uprising against
Austrian rule in 1848. No visit to Padua is complete without grabbing a table on
the open-air terrace of this beautiful cafe and raising an eyebrow at the passing
pedestrian traffic. On Pedrocchi's upper floor,
Piano Nobile
(
%
049-8205007)
is a sort of museum to 19th-century refinement; the various rooms are decorated
in different styles, kitschily drawing on Egyptian, Roman, and Greek influences.
Today, parties and dinners are still hosted in the ballroom, which is dedicated to
the notable musician Rossini. Also in the Piano Nobile is the recently established
Museum of the Risorgimento and of Contemporary Art
(
%
049-8781231),
which will only be of interest to history buffs with a particular bent for war
stories. The exhibit covers the history of Padua from the fall of the Venetian
Republic in 1797 until the Constitution of the Republic in 1948, with particular
emphasis on the world wars and the impact of Mussolini.
5
