Attractions and Places To See around Polverara - Top 20

Piazza dei Signori, Padua For the people of Padua, a stroll to the squares of the historic center, such as Piazza della Frutta, Piazza delle Erbe, and Piazza dei Signori, means immersing oneself in the markets that traditionally enliven the city every morning. Shopping is simultaneously a pleasure, a social occasion, a kind of daily ritual. But it's also worthwhile to look up and admire the architecture of the houses, balconies, and historic buildings that frame them. Piazza dei Signori is surrounded on its two main sides by two wings with colonnades, elegantly enhanced by terraces with antique wrought-iron balconies. The two shorter sides are bordered by the Church of San Clemente and the Palazzo del Capitanio with its clock tower, whose colonnade leads to the Corte Capitaniato and the nearby square of the same name. Here once stood the Castello dei Carraresi, which today houses the University of Padua with its Faculty of Literature and Philosophy and the rooms painted by Altichiero. On the south side of the square stands the elegant Loggia del Consiglio, or Gran Guardia, the 16th-century building where the city's Maggior Consiglio (Great Council) used to meet. The wide staircase leading to the loggia and the council chamber on the main floor are particularly worth seeing. Text / Source: Turismo Padova https://www.turismopadova.it/de/orte/piazza-dei-signori/

Basilica of Saint Anthony of Padua / Basilica of Saint Anthony, Padua The Basilica of Saint Anthony, known as "the Saint," is the city's most important religious center and attracts thousands of pilgrims every year, especially on June 13, the saint's feast day. The basilica was built in 1232 to protect the tomb of the Franciscan friar Anthony, who died in Padua in 1231. The large building presents a complex structure with a fusion of styles: Romanesque elements in the façade, Gothic elements in the ambulatory, Byzantine elements in the eight domes covered with lead, and Moorish elements in two tiers. The Church of Saint Anthony holds numerous reminders of the Carrara Signoria. In 1350, Cardinal Guido de Boulogne came to the cathedral to acknowledge the saint's miracle and was greeted by Jacopo II da Carrara and Bishop Hildebrand. Members of the Carraresi family, such as the Lupi di Soragna and the Conti, chose the basilica as the site for their own mausoleums. The Chapel of the Black Madonna now stands on the site of the earlier church, dedicated to Santa Maria, Mother of the Lord. The polychrome Madonna is by Rinaldino di Francia and dates from 1396. Rinaldino is also likely the artist of the shield bearing the portrait of Stefano da Carrara, now in the city museums. A funerary monument to Raffaele Fulgioso, a renowned jurist from the University of Padua, is located to the left of the chapel. The Chapel of Blessed Luca reveals even closer ties to the Carraresi family: it was built between 1380 and 1382 by Naimerio and Manfredino Conti, executing the will of Fina Buzzaccarini. They commissioned Giusto de'Menabuoi, a painter from the Carraresi court, to create the frescoes. The stories of Saints Philip and James, arranged on the chapel walls, reveal a surprising new sense of spaciousness. In the center, within the lunette, are portraits of the patrons: Saint Anthony, Blessed Luke, Saint Francis, and Saint Louis of Toulouse, as they are presented to the Virgin. Text / Source: Turismo Padova https://www.padua.info/de/padua/was-zu-sehen-ist/details/basilica-di-santantonio

Prato della Valle, Padua The Prato della Valle, one of Padua's landmarks, is a large, monumental space distinguished by a central green island, Isola Memmia, named in honor of the city's governor who commissioned its creation. This island is surrounded by a canal adorned with a double pedestal featuring numbered statues of famous figures from the past. Since antiquity, this public space has served both economic and recreational functions. In Roman times, a large theater, the Zairo, stood here; remains of the theater's foundations have been found in the canal surrounding Isola Memmia, along with a circular racecourse for chariots. During the Middle Ages, fairs, tournaments, festivals, and competitions were held here; it was the site of large gatherings of "all the free men of Padua," and as early as 1077, it was a marketplace. Until 1767, it belonged to the Abbey of Santa Giustina. Then, the Senate of Veneto declared it municipal land and, together with Andrea Memmo, Provveditore della Serenissima (Governor of the Venetian Republic), implemented a radical redevelopment project. The aim was to create a new urban commercial center, a space suitable for fairs and events. Later, pavilions were erected on Isola Memmia to establish a market. Subsequently, trees were planted, giving the square a distinctly English feel, while the surrounding buildings made it unique, original, and memorable. The design is inspired by the great Venetian tradition of the patrician garden, which here, for the first time, is taken out of private use and proposed according to neoclassical concepts as an urban planning solution and ecological enhancement. Text / Source: Turismo Padova https://www.turismopadova.it/de/orte/prato-della-valle/

The Basilica of Saint Anthony. Padua is the city of Anthony, a Franciscan monk who lived from 1195 to 1231. It is a beautiful pilgrimage church with 8 Byzantine domes and an impressive interior including a funerary chapel, high reliefs, frescoes…

Piazza dei Signori; a large square with the Palazzo del Capitano (from the 14th-16th centuries), where the Venetian governors resided and the watch tower with arcade and the elegant Loggia del Consiglio in Renaissance style. The clock still works on the almost 600 year old mechanism. Entrance is free, groups of maximum 10 people (guided tours only in the morning on Wednesday, Friday and Saturday).

Prato della Valle is one of the largest squares in Europe dating from the 17th century. It is the green heart of the city, a welcoming meeting place. The oval-shaped square, planted with plane trees, is surrounded by a tranquil waterway flanked by statues of famous figures.

After the restoration work, which allowed the reopening of the tower in Piazza dei Signori in June 2010, the Astrarium clock, made in 1344 by Jacopo Dondi da Chioggia, is back in use in Padua. In 1437, the Astrario clock was faithfully reconstructed by the clockmakers Matteo Novello, Giovanni and Giampietro dalle Caldiere. The clock represents the Ptolemaic astronomical theory of a geocentric system that placed the Earth at the centre of the universe. The tower, 30 m high from the street level, has 5 internal floors, the first 3 of which were intended to house the parts of the clock mechanism, the other 2 formed the residence of the master clockmaker, custodian and maintainer. The cage clock is equipped with 2 "trains": the time train and the bell sound train. The dial has a round shape: the numbering of the hours is engraved on the external band with Roman characters, the internal band, made of lead plates, shows the copper stars. The third band, however, contains the zodiac symbols in relief. In the center is planet Earth. The lance that indicates the hours with the sun is at the base, while the moon appears in a round window. All the zodiac signs, except that of Libra which is missing, are finished with pure gold leaf. Source: https://www.padovanet.it/informazione/orologio-astrario-di-piazza-dei-signori

In the Basilica of Sant'Antonio. This majestic building houses the remains of the famous Portuguese monk Sant'Antonio, the patron saint of children, the poor and the hungry. The monk spent much of his life in Padua and also died there. The basilica, and in particular the tomb of Sant'Antonio, is a popular destination for devout pilgrims.