A city with two distinct faces yet one heart. A city with two distinct faces yet one heart: Padua, both a living religious monument and a center of revolutionary scientific learning, embodies many of the virtues of Veneto: arts, history, and nature are in fact integral parts of its essence; its center fuses the architecture and relics of its illustrious past with the lively university which has always nourished the town: the squares and alleyways, and brightly-colored fruit and vegetable stalls in the shadow of the Palazzo della Ragione endows it with an aura of eternal presence. Holidays in Padua are a joyful plunge into this picturesque and elegant atmosphere.
Padua is also known as the city of the 'Saint with no name', the 'field without grass', and the 'café with no doors', because the Basilica of S. Anthony, who has for 800 years been calling the faithful, is usually called simply 'The Saint'. The Prato Della Valle, Europe’s largest square after Moscow’s Red Square, is almost bare of grass, and once the famous Caffè Pedrocchi had no doors!
When you spend your holiday in Padua you will notice that the city holds in a discrete and almost unaffected way many unique and exclusive aspects, which are nonetheless proudly displayed to the tourist: for those wanting to plan their holidays in Padua many surprises are on offer. From Giotto to Mantegna, Donatello to Galileo, Padua has been host to the greatest artists and scientists of the ages, making it a temple to knowledge. The surrounding area of this most 'learned city' is also rich in culture: the countryside still resounds with the sonnets of Petrarch; the Middle Ages breathes through the noble walls, and the aristocratic villas and their rich cultural history lie sparkling in the landscape.
