Extensively reconstructed after the
damage caused by bombing in World
War II, and hemmed in by the sprawl
that has accompanied its development
as the most important economic
centre of the Veneto,
PADUA (PADOVA)
is not immediately the most alluring
city in northern Italy. It is,
however, one of the most ancient,
and plentiful evidence remains of
its impressive lineage. A large
student population creates a young,
vibrant atmosphere and the city has
undoubtedly the best nightlife
within reach of Venice. As a result,
more and more people use Padua as a
base from which to make day-trips to
its overcrowded neighbour.
A Roman municipium from 45 BC,
the city thrived until the barbarian
onslaughts and the subsequent
Lombard invasion at the start of the
seventh century. Recovery was slow,
but by the middle of the twelfth
century, when it became a free
commune, Padua was prosperous once
again. The university was founded in
1221, and a decade later the city
became a place of pilgrimage
following the death here of St
Anthony.
In 1337 the Da Carrara
family established control. Under
their domination, Padua's cultural
eminence was secured - Giotto, Dante
and Petrarch were among those
attracted here - but Carraresi
territorial ambitions led to
conflict with Venice, and in 1405
the city's independence ended with
its conquest by the neighbouring
republic. Though politically
nullified, Padua remained an
artistic and intellectual centre:
Donatello and Mantegna both worked
here, and in the seventeenth century
Galileo researched at the
university, where the medical
faculty was one of the most
ambitious in Europe. With the fall
of the Venetian Republic the city
passed to Napoleon, who handed it
over to the Austrians, after whose
regime Padua was annexed to Italy in
1866.
The City
of Padua
From the train station, the Corso
del Popolo, later the Corso
Garibaldi lead south through a gap
in the Renaissance city walls
towards the centre of the city,
passing after a short distance the
Cappella degli Scrovegni and Musei
Civici ...
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