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Published: June 16th 2017
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01 Grand Buildings
Grand buildings on the Prato della Valle. Geo: 45.4096, 11.8766
After lunch this afternoon Jenny and Fabio arrived. They were taking Michael and I out for the afternoon. We were going to Padua. I had been there before, but it was many years ago. The road was quite busy and it took us about forty minutes to get there. We drove around the edge of the city, along the canal and the old city walls.
We parked, started walking and soon arrived at the Prato della Valle. This is the largest public square in Italy and one of the largest in Europe. It was quite busy and apparently at various times of the day can be quite dodgy. There are 78 statues arranged in two rings on both sides of the canal. There are four bridges that cross the canal with a fountain in the middle.
There were many grand looking buildings on the edge of the Prato della Valle. We walked onto a bridge and noticed in the canal was a furry animal (maybe an otter) swimming along. It was a very short walk to the middle and here there was a fountain. The fountain was very plain and fenced off, could have been a great place to wet
02 More Buildings
More buildings on the Prato della Valle. your feet.
From here we could see the large Abbey of Saint Giustina. We then crossed over a different bridge and looking into the water we saw the same furry creature still swimming along. There was a duck very close to it and I thought it was going to eat the duck!
We left the square and walked towards one of Padua's most famous landmark, the Basilica of Saint Anthony. It was free entry so we went inside. Unfortunately we were not allowed to take photos in here, although Michael did take a few sneaky photos. It is massive inside and made us feel very small.
There was a door leading out to the cloister, so walked through and had a look. From the cloister we could see the bell tower and domes of the basilica. Back in the basilica we walked towards the front of it and joined a line. This line was to see the relics of St Anthony. Various body parts were on display in individual golden reliquaries. This basilica has many chapels on the sides.
We then left the basilica and walked towards the city centre. Padua is a university town and is quite large and busy.
03 Statue on a Bridge
A statue of Antonio Diedo - an Italian architect. We walked past the huge, medieval Palazzo della Ragione in Piazza delle Erbe. Then we came to another piazza, Piazza dei Signori. Here there is a famous clock tower and a column. Beneath the clock and on top of the column is a statue of a lion – the symbol of Venice.
Under the clock tower is a walkway that leads to Piazza Capitaniato. Here there was a bar with many of its tables outside on the piazza. We sat down and enjoyed a late afternoon Spritz. Then Jenny was hungry, so on the way back to the car we stopped for a snack of hot chips and mayonnaise. This was the first time on this trip that we have eaten something that is not Italian.
It was now time to start heading back to the car because we had to be back in time for dinner. On the way back I stopped to take a few photos on a bridge of the canal as the water was so still and made a great reflection. After a few consultations with Google Maps we found the car and drove back to Loria. We enjoyed our afternoon out and appreciated Jenny and Fabio
04 Canal
The canal with the interior and exterior ring of statues. taking us.
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