Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
MAP
GOOGLE MAP
( 049 66 28 14; Piazza del Duomo; 7.30am-noon & 4-7.30pm Mon-Sat, 8am-1pm & 3-8pm Sun & holidays)
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Built from a much-altered design of Michelangelo's, the whitewashed symmetry of
Padua's cathedral is a far cry from its rival in Piazza San Marco. The adjoining 13th-cen-
tury
Baptistry
( 049 65 69 14; adult/child €2.80/1; 10am-6pm)
, however, is a Romanesque gem
frescoed with luminous biblical scenes by Giusto de' Menabuoi. Hundreds of male and fe-
male saints congregate in the cupola, posed as though for a school graduation photo, ex-
changing glances and stealing looks at the Madonna.
At the centre of the dome Christ Pantocrator holds open a book inscribed with the
words
Ego sum alpha et omega
(I am the beginning and the end), and the rear apse wall il-
lustrates his meaning with frescoes that illuminate biblical stories of creation, redemption
and the apocalypse.
BASILICA DI SANT'ANTONIO
(Il Santo;
www.basilicadelsanto.org
;
Piazza del Santo; 6.20am-7.45pm Apr-Oct, to 7pm Nov-Mar)
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Il Santo
is the soul of Padua, a key pilgrimage site and the burial place of patron saint St Anthony
of Padua (1193-1231). Begun in 1232, its polyglot style incorporates rising eastern domes
atop a Gothic brick structure crammed with Renaissance treasures. Behind the high altar
nine radiating chapels punctuate a broad ambulatory homing in on the
Cappella del Tesoro
(Treasury Chapel), where the relics of St Anthony reside.
Renowned for his oratorical skills, Anthony was a notable public mediator in times of
civil strife. Legend has it that when his tomb was opened in 1263 his body had disinteg-
rated, with the exception of his chin and grey-green tongue, which are now on display in
enormous golden reliquaries.
You'll also notice dozens of people clustering along the right transept waiting their turn
to enter the
Cappella del Santo
, where Anthony's tomb is covered with requests and thanks
for the saint's intercession in curing illness and recovering lost objects. The chapel itself is
a light-filled Renaissance confection lined with nine panels vividly depicting the story of
Anthony's life in extraordinary relief sculptures attributed to the Padua-born Lombardo
brothers and completed around 1510.
Other notable works include the lifelike 1360s crucifix by Veronese master Altichiero
da Zevio in the frescoed
Cappella di San Giacomo
; the wonderful 1528 sacristy fresco of St
Anthony preaching to spellbound fish by a follower of Girolamo Tessari; and 1444-50
high altar reliefs by Florentine Renaissance master Donatello (ask guards for access).
Through the east door of the basilica you reach the attached monastery with its five
CHURCH
