To Padua and Back

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Padova

Today, we took a trip by train to Padua (Padova, in Italian).

While waiting in the train station early in the morning, we decided to get some breakfast. This consisted of croissants, coffee, tea, sandwiches and even hamburgers!

Once we arrived in the city, we visited the 16th century synagogue in the city's historical ghetto. Jews have had a presence in the city since the 12th century. There we learned that there were no pictures of any kind because of the second commandment's prohibition against graven images.

After that, we ventured around the rest of the ghetto where we looked at other synagogues and Jewish landmarks. Out last stop before lunch was to the ancient Jewish cemetery. The gravestones all faced to the east, which is the direction of Jerusalem. After lunch, we explored the town and then met up at a classic coffee shop (built in 1831), called Caffè Pedrocchi, where we drank various Italian coffee beverages and learned some Italian phrases (like, che schifo:that's disgusting; sono stanca: I'm tired; and others that we can't print here. Out last big stop was to the Basilica of Saint Anthony, which was a very large and beautiful church. We learned that this is where Saint Anthony had asked to be brought upon his deathbed. This cathedral also housed relics of Saint Anthony—including his jaw, tongue and vocal cords—which had mysteriously stayed preserved for centuries.

Padova was a very beautiful city full of interesting historical sites that we were very lucky to observe.

—Nicole Borsook

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