Five Cities, Five Distinct Personalities: Padua

If Verona is the city of love, then Padua is the charming university town.  And, students have not changed their nature since we were among them.

Piazza  di Erbe

Our hostess in Padua was Antonella...

Outside the apt with Antonella.

...a vivacious and amichevole (friendly, with any positive attribute that goes along with it.)  She is in her mid-70s and nearly skips up the three flights of stairs to the apt.  The apartment was just lovely.  It is where her grandmother lived and she grew up there, as well.  Antonella and her husband now live across the street.  The apt is called Al Canton dei Signori   Should you wish to visit the city, I would highly recommend staying there.  As with any place we choose to stay, it is in the centro storico (historic center) of Padua, just off the Piazza Erbe.  Also, we do not stay at any inn, B&B, albergo, agriturismo or other spot not owned by Italians.  It's a conscious choice to support the citizens of the country we are visiting, and to actually be in Italy with Italians.

And here is the street of the apt, with a little street art.

We spent two days prowling each and every street in Padua.  There are surprises everywhere.

A random building on a random street

A Monestary garden

And, like in other cities, pigeons were not welcomed.

To prevent pigeons from landing in public places, under porticos, etc.

And there are lots rules from people, too, always posted.  This posting is near ruins of the Roman Theater in Padua.












There are multiple piazze (plural of piazza) in the centro of any city, all very close to one another.  Always, a Piazza della Republica, one for the cathedral, and often one for a clock tower.  Padua did not disappoint!

   

The clock tower in the Piazza Erbe contains the oldest functioning clock in the world.  While it was not the first clock built in Eurpoe, it was the first to keep accurate time.

The clock face is a bit unusual.  It has 24 hours, and the clock has only one hand...

Note the coat of arms of the Republic of Venice, a winged lion, just below the clock face.

In the Piazza della Populo is Palazzo della Ragione (Palace of Reason, i.e., the courthouse).

It was built in 1172 and houses what is still the largest roof unsupported by columns (267 feet long) in Europe.  How big was this room?  Take a look...

The horse---made of wood---was sculpted in the 1450's to promote a trade fair.  The sponsors liked the sculpture so much they decided to keep it.  The only place large enough to store it was the "Salone," the great hall on the second floor of the Palazzo.

The roof of the building was contructed like the hull of a ship and was then lined with a ceiling that was painted with thousands of stars on a blue background.  All that wood, guess what?  There was a terrible fire and the roof burned.  When reconstructed, it remained a wooden hull only.  Still, it's size is just amazing.

The walls are covered with frescos of seasons, zodiac signs, people, you name it.  It is a huge room, so there was plenty of space for a wide variety of frescos.

There was also some fun street art.  The students are a bit political here, although to tell the truth everyone is up-to-date on current events.  Sitting at an outside bar, one overhears at least one conversation about politics in Italy, one about international politics, one about love, and more than one in a Germatic language which neither of us understands.  We are up north after all.

We had no idea there was a ghetto...

or that there would be any signage.

Like Verona, the former ghetto has become an upscale shopping district.









The  Italian Rites (Ashkenazi) synagogue was destroyed by the nazis during WWII, but was rebuilt by the city following the war.

Front door of the rebuilt synagogue

Even the portal was rebuilt

It is no longer used as a place of worship, but around the corner we heard men in morning prayer.  

The Spanish (Sephardic) synagogue is still operating. We, make that Carol, was not allowed to go inside...not only because she's a woman, but that day she was sleeveless.  There was a man at the door to keep people out and two policemen.

Safe

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