Walking Tour in the city centre
Guided walk in the historical city centre that starts at St. Anthony’s Basilica (inside if there are no religious celebrations), the paduan shrine with the tomb and the reliquary of the saint, takes you through narrow streets right to the medieval heart of the city with its squares: Piazza delle Erbe, della Frutta, dei Signori. Here the tour guide will point out the finest and symbolic monuments at you. Palazzo della Ragione, also called “Salone” for its enormous hanging Hall, that for a long time it was the biggest of its kind in the world, with its characteristic hollow-like roof. The “Salone” stands in the middle of a lively trade area which from the covered market located on the ground floor of the Palace, where all the shops that sell the typical products of the territory are, it continues on the Piazze della Frutta and delle Erbe with the stalls that sell the best fruit and vegetables. The guided walk continues in Piazza dei Signori, whose name refers to the Carraresi family that governed the city in the XIV c. On the western side rises up the Clock Tower, with its special clock mechanism. Probably the first to be created in Italy, it is actually a reproduction of the one invented and built by the astronomer and physician Jacopo Dondi in 1344, then always called “dell’Orologio”, which means of the clock.
The City Hall that houses the magnificent Upper Court, rebuilt in the XVI c. according to plans by the great architect Andrea Moroni, is linked to the Palazzo della Ragione by a monumental stairway. Right opposite the Municipal Palace stands the XVI c. façade of the Palazzo del Bo, the ancient university seat, the oldest in Italy after Bologna, it was founded in 1222. It is worth a visit for the great Courtyard of Honour (middle XVI c.) by Andrea Moroni; the Hall of the Forty, the former Aula Magna, that holds the rather plain wooden desk from where, according to tradition, the great Galileo Galilei used to teach in the period between 1592 and 1610; the Aula Magna has its walls completely covered with decorations and coat-of-arms, and the renowned Anatomical Theatre, the oldest in the world built in 1594. The building also houses the statue of the first woman in the world to have graduated at Padua’s University – Elena Lucrezia Cornaro Piscopia.
Next to the “Bo” stands one of the most important European coffee-houses, the historical Caffè Pedrocchi, the “Café with no doors”, so have Paduans for several years been calling their Café. It actually remained open day and night according to its first owner’s wish Antonio Pedrocchi. Here you can have a taste of its famous and delicious Espresso with mint cream!
This walking tour is ideal for individuals, groups and students on a school trip.
duration of the visit: 2 Hours.