Padova

Last Wednesday we took a day trip to Padova (or Padua) which is about 40 km west of Venice. Putting aside the fact that Padova is a city in Italy, and, more specifically, the Veneto, it is much more like what we would consider a "normal" city than Venice. There were more modern buildings, more stores, and it was much less touristy. Additionally, there were roads and transportation, and encountering cars again in Padova was even more alarming than on the Lido. On the Lido, we had two roads to cross to get to the beach, and they weren't very busy. In Padova, there was so much going on that we almost didn't know how to react; we've gotten so used to just walking wherever there is space to do so in Venice. Here, one might bump into other people (in fact, it's pretty much unavoidable) but one can't be hit by a bus. Thankfully, we quickly moved on to what has now become very familiar territory: museums, churches, and the like.
Our first stop, after making reservations for our later visit to the Scrovegni Chapel, was the Scuola di San Antonio and Oratorio di San Giorgio, where we noticed another difference between Venice and Padova: people were friendly. Inside the Oratorio, there was a statue that I, as a fan of Monty Python and the Holy Grail, really wanted a picture of.
Since it wasn't a painting, and if I turned off my camera's flash, I thought the guard might allow me to take one. He did better than that. Because we are students, he allowed us to linger after visiting hours and everyone else had gone and take as many pictures as we liked.
Despite having plenty of churches, monuments, museums, and other attractions, Padova just isn't a tourist city like Venice. True, people live and work in Venice, and not everyone employed here is part of the tourism industry, but tourism is as much a part of the idea of Venice as it is of the Venetian economy. Tourists in Venice are often compared to the pidgeons; they're everywhere, and they can't be driven away. Even the "real" Venice offers no reprieve. I'm sure it's much less common to take pictures of people's laundry in Padova.
After the Oratorio, we visited the Basilica di Sant' Antonio da Padova. That's a tiny corner of it on the left of the photo above. The basilica is massive, possibly the largest church I've ever visited. Within are housed the incorruptable relics of Saint Anthony, his tongue and jawbone, but we were not able to see them. We were, however, able to step up and lay a hand on his tomb, as locals and pilgrims do when they pray to him. We refrained from purchasing a €40 candle to leave as an offering. Sadly, we were not allowed to take pictures inside the basilica. There were many interesting works of art inside. For example, on a tomb, there was a figure of Death (a skeleton) with a trumpet, and on one of the columns I noticed some bas reliefs of ships; I think they depicted naval battles in which someone in one of the other tombs fought.Outside the basilica was a work of art we were able to photograph, an equestrian statue by Donatello. This was the first equstrian statue since the fall of the Roman empire, and it was sculpted at a time when the use of bronze was still a learning process. You can see here that the horse's foot is supported; it was not yet known how to raise one and still have a balanced statue.
After lunch, we visited the Scrovegni Chapel, which was something of an ordeal. The chapel was built by Enrico Scrovegni, possibly in an attempt to expunge his father's sins as well as his own. Both men were usurers, money lenders. The father, Reginaldo, appears in Dante's Inferno, and Enrico is shown in one of the paintings inside presenting the church to the Virgin Mary. The frescos in the church are by Giotto, and the cycle is considered, to quote the Wikipedia article, "one of the most important masterpieces of Western art." Unfortunately, some of the frescos have been damaged, but much work is being done to preserve them. We were definitely not allowed to take pictures inside; we weren't even allowed to carry our bags with us. Visits to the chapel have to be booked in advance, and each group is allowed only fifteen minutes. Before entering, there was an instructional video, thankfully with English subtitles, and then we proceeded through a sort of airlock of glass doors to see the chapel in person. A guard with a timer kept an eye on things and told us when we had to leave. As impressive as the art was, it seemed like a lot of trouble for such a small church.

Outside, there was a park, which was somewhat more enjoyable, although we didn't have much time to appreciate it. The locals were certainly taking advantage of the nice weather, though. Many were napping on the grass. The abundance of green space is another difference between Venice and Padova. Venice doesn't have the space for much green space, and is pretty much limited to the Giardini imposed by Napoleon. The public spaces are the campi, and I think they're used and enjoyed in a much different way than public spaces in Padova.
It may be also that there is simply another class of people in Padova. The city is home to the University of Padova, and it definitely had a college town feel. There were students on the streets, in the piazze, in the parks, in the cafes... just hanging out. There are students in Venice too, of course, but one doesn't see much of them. Our group encounters them only if they happen to eat in the San Servolo mensa or if we find time to go to the Campo Santa Margarita to enjoy the "nightlife." We've also been lucky enough to encounter some graduates in both cities. There were several around the university in Padova. The graduates didn't stand out because they were wearing caps and gowns, however. Italians have a strange tradition, sort of the reverse of hazing, in which a lucky graduate is dressed up, paraded through town, and generally humiliated by his or her friends and family. This might involve drinking an entire bottle of wine, carrying a sign upon which are written all sorts of embarassing things, being sprayed with silly string... The only limit appears to be the tormentors' imaginations.
In all cases, there is a song that goes along with the festivities. Video
The University of Padova is famous for many reasons. We were able to see the anatomy theater, and the doorway of the room where Galileo taught.
Link
One popular part of the tour was the statue of Elena Cornaro Piscopia, the first woman to graduate from the university of Padova, or, for that matter, any university.
All in all, it was a really cool day, and I think you can see why it took me awhile to write about it. I'd like to go back, if I get the chance, if only for a change of atmosphere and to do some shopping.