Fresco Loft

If you want a European tourist destination, why not consider the region of Veneto in northern Italy in the Gulf of Venice? Venice is the city's most famous and one of the most popular tourist destinations on earth. Remember that the Veneto is much more than this great city. It hosts many other great attractions, and you will not have to fight the crowds. With any luck you'll avoid tourist traps, and back home away from home that you truly visited Italy. This article examines tourist attractions in the university town of Padua, in the center of the Veneto. Do not forget to read our companion articles in the northern Veneto in the south of the Veneto, and the city of Verona Shakespeare.

Padua, population of over two hundred thousand, only about twenty-five miles (forty kilometers) west of Venice, but has always had its own life. It was the scene of Shakespeare Taming of the Shrew. Padua claims to be the oldest city in northern Italy, founded in the early twelfth century BC He handed against the Lombards, for twelve years in the early seventeenth century to be burned. Padua is the headquarters of the Italian army during the First World War and the site of the surrender of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

The historic city center surrounded by seven miles (eleven kilometers) from the walls of the sixteenth century houses the town hall, whose walls are covered with the names of war dead of Padua. Other sights include the Palazzo della Ragione described below and the nineteenth century neoclassical Caff? edrocchi. The CAFF? S one of the largest in the world and the hub of the revolt in 1848, perhaps not surprising given its proximity to the university described below.

The twelfth century Palazzo della Ragione (Palace of Reason), despite its name does not haunt a philosopher, but a vast market that are centuries old. The hall itself is about two hundred and sixty feet (eighty meters) long, so when people say you can not miss it, they are not kidding. This magnificent building was heavily damaged by fire early in the fifteenth century, unfortunately, completely destroyed a large collection of paintings. Thus, the frescoes, you will see are a bit more modern. Moreover, the collection includes one of the few games full of signs of the zodiac. The palace is no longer the seat of government of Padua and often hosts art exhibitions.

University of Padua in the historic center of town at the Palazzo del Bo (Ox Palace, the name of a hostel which was substituted) was founded in 1222 when many professors and students left the University of Bologna issue of academic freedom. Jurisprudence and theology were the first courses offered. From the fifteenth century to the eighteenth century the university was renowned for his research, particularly in the fields of medicine, astronomy, philosophy and law. On June 25, 1678, Elena Lucrezia Cornaro Piscopia became a graduate of the planet where the first woman awarded a doctorate in philosophy in the Cathedral of Padua. In addition to math, philosophy, theology and master Piscopia languages: Italian, Latin, Greek, Hebrew, Spanish, French and Arabic. Other famous professors and graduates include Nicolas Copernicus, Galileo, and Giacomo Casanova. You should visit the Anatomy Theatre, the world's oldest built in 1594. To address the issue of overpopulation of many university faculties have recently moved to other cities of the Veneto region.

Along the Piazza dei Signori (Lords Place "), you will see the beginning of the seventeenth Palazzo del Capitanio, the residence of the Venetian governors, with its door. The palace included his own church, the church of San Nicolo. The nearby Duomo (Cathedral), rebuilt in the mid-sixteenth century from a drawing by Michelangelo, is not one of his best work.