Visting Padua

The next city in my excursion was Padua ("was" because I'm now in Treviso).  Padua was quite a bit larger than I expected; bigger than Verona.  It had a sizable shopping district with many high-end stores (including Hermès).

But the reason I visited Padua (Padova in Italian) was to see the Scrovegni Chapel (Cappella degli Scrovegni, aka the Arena Chapel) and the amazing frescoes painted by Giotto.  Scrovegni was a wealthy banker who decided to exhibit his wealth in architecture.  He purchased land occupied by a Roman arena (hence Arena Chapel) and build a huge palazzo for himself and family.  All wealthy families needed a church as well, so he built the chapel and hired Giotto to decorate the interior.  Giotto and 40 assistants worked on the chapel from March 1303 to March 1305.

The Scrovegni Chapel from the window of my Airbnb

Against an agreement with the neighboring Church of the Eremitani and its Augustinian monks, Scrovegni apparently added a large apse, a transept, and a bell tower.  After the monks objected to the competition, Scrovegni was required to remove these elements.  Since Giotto painted all the interior walls and ceilings of the church, those in this original apse and transept are lost.  A smaller apse was constructed and painted by an unknown artist now referred to as "The Master of the Scrovegni Choir".  The reduction in size of the church ruined the symmetry and gives a sense of incompleteness and disharmony.  Nonetheless, the frescoes remaining are amazing.

Unknown to me, you need to make a reservation to visit the chapel.  The Italian authorities discovered that air pollution was slowly destroying the frescoes, so they put in extensive air quality systems to remove pollution and maintain humidity.  What this means for visitors is that only 15 people can enter the chapel at one time and visits are strictly timed for both entry and exit.  It also means that you first enter an air conditioned waiting room and watch a film for 15 minutes while the air is cleaned of pollution and excess humidity before you're allowed to enter the chapel for 15 minutes.  Fortunately, this time of year (mid-October) there are no lines during the week (weekends are different).  You can make a reservation on-line.  I made two visits because one isn't quite enough to take in the many frescoes, and each is inspiring.

The Last Judgment

The film they play during the acclimation period claims that Giotto's frescoes defined a hugely important turning point in painting.  Before, the painter's subjects looked directly at the painter.  Not in Giotto's frescoes in which realism triumphs over set piece and the subjects look at each other.  Before, the subjects were sitting placidly (even if dressed for war).  Not in Giotto's frescoes in which emotion is conveyed in expression and gesture.  For these reasons, the film claims the Giotto frescoes to be "the most important works of art ever created".

The frescoes tell the story of Christ and are in 3 rows.  The story follows a spiral around the chapel from top to bottom.

Adoration of the Magi and Christ washing Judas' feet

Unfortunately, many of the pictures I took are blurry.  While they allow cameras, they do not allow tripods (fortunately there is good lighting in the chapel itself, either natural daylight or a specially designed LED system that automatically adjusts as the daylight changes).  Still many of the frescoes are high on the wall and require telephoto shots in which small motions in the photographer make for blurred pictures.  I had better luck with my iPhone taking panoramic views than with my Nikon taking single shots.  I'm not sure if they allow opera glasses (but why not) which would make it much easier to see the frescoes in the top and middle rows.

(Not sure of scene), John baptizes Christ, the Crucifiction

Of course, in addition to the Scrovegni Chapel, there was a lot to do in Padua.  I took a walking tour, which was supposed to visit or pass several good places to eat and ended in having an aperitivo.  While it was nice, the guide was a young woman, not much out of college, and still with a student's view of what constituted a good place to eat.  These consisted mainly of chocolate shops, sandwich shops, pizzerias, etc.  Ah well.  We had a good conversation (I was the only "cliento" on the tour) and the apertivo, the usual Aperol spritz, was pretty good.

I visited the Basilica of Saint Anthony, which is in Padua, and is the burial place of Saint Anthony.  Last trip I saw the burial place of Saint Francis in Assisi.  I guess I'll need to complete the trifecta and find the burial place of Saint Benedict.  Saint Francis is the patron saint of lost or stolen articles (along with a huge list of other things).  While growing up and going to Catholic schools, I remember my mother putting a medal with Saint Anthony's picture on a chain around my neck.  I was never sure if this was to prevent my getting lost, or an attempt to guarantee it.  In any case, I wonder if the saint would be surprised at the elaborate and extremely expensive altar and burying place in which he ended up.  Anthony is also patron saint of those who have lost limbs or the function of them.  There was a line of people who came to touch the tomb in hopes of a miracle.

As with most European cities, Padua has a central market, some of which is permanent.  Much like Pike Place Market, only in (much) older buildings.

Fish monger

Cheese store

Around here, when you want Parmigiana cheese, you will be asked a number of questions to narrow down the choice: do you want 6, 12, or 24 month aged? do you want it from this cheese maker or that? Etc. It seems endless.  Sold by the ettagram (100 gram units, about 3-1/2 ounces).  As you can see by the prices marked, it's much cheaper here than in the US.  I guess partly because of shipping costs.

The last full day, I visited the Palazzo Zuckermann, which was across the street from where I stayed and which contains two museums: the Museum of Applied and Decorative Arts and the Bottacin Museum.  The Museum of Applied and Decorative Arts, as the name suggests, contains quite a few examples of furniture, cutlery, china, etc.  The Bottacin museum displays the bequest of Nicholas Bottacin, a wealthy cloth merchant in the 19th century who collected coins.  Hey, I had a free hour or so and it was included on my Padova Carte (which allows entry into many of Padua's museums).