Padua - 2011

The cathedral in Padua, one of the several churches and museums we visited on beautiful, sunny days.

The courtyard of the Church of St. Anthony with domes of the church in the  background. St. Anthony is buried here. Our hotel is about a block from here and we could watch a steady stream of visitors all day and into the evening.

We toured the University of Padua, which was founded in the 1222 and includes Galileo among its most famous professors. A highlight of the tour was a visit to the University's historic Anatomy Theater, built in 1594.

The squares surrounding the Palazzo della Ragione are filled with an extensive outdoor market, supposedly the second largest in Italy. Everyone in Padua seemed to be shopping on Saturday.

The gound floor of the Palazzo della Ragione contains four long hallways filled with butcher shops, delicatessens, cheese shops, bakeries and fish mongers.

The second floor of the Palazzo della Ragione is a museum. In the back corner of the museum is the ‘Pietra del vituperio’ or ‘stone of shame’, an item dated to 1231. Insolvent debtors were required to sit on this stone, renounce their possessions and endure the ridicule of the citizenry (a huge improvement over the earlier practice of imprisonment for life).  Dick had the bright idea that he might sit on the Stone of Shame and pose for a picture but afterwards realized that he truly should be ashamed for even touching it. Fortunately there were no staff people in the area. He posts the photograph as his penance for behaving like a very stupid tourist.

We visited a rose garden on Mother's Day.

We also visited a botanical garden. This is a view of a building on the grounds with a church in the background.

Picture of Margaret enjoying a latte in the square across from the Church of St Anthony.

The emergency response team of Padua is proud to display their most modern equipment. (Click for a closer view.)