Perillo Tours

Region: Veneto

Sights:  Basilica St. Anthony, Cappella degli Scrovegni, Musei Civici degli Eremitani, The Museo Bottacin

For the great desire I had to see fair Padua, nursery of arts, I am arrived… and am to Padua come, as he that leaves a shallow plash to plunge in the deep, and with satiety seeks to quench his thirst. – William Shakespeare, The Taming of the Shrew

Padua, Padova in Italian, is one of the historical intellectual hubs of the world; Dante, Galileo, Copernicus and the poet Tasso all have ties to this small city.

A Roman municipium from the first century BC, Padua survived barbarian onslaughts and a Lombard invasion as the centuries wore on.

In the thirteenth century following the death of St. Anthony, Padua became a place of pilgrimage. His remains are interred at the eponymous Basilica di Sant' Antonio.

The city is picturesque – a marvelous network of arcaded streets and bridges. Padua's most famous sight is the Cappella degli Scrovegni for its truly remarkable Giotto frescoes.