Explore Padua

Padua Cathedral, dedicated to Santa Maria Assunta, is the seat of the Bishop of Padua on Piazza Duomo. The present Renaissance church is the third on the site: it was begun in 1551 to plans by Andrea della Valle and Agostino Righetto and took two centuries to complete. The Romanesque baptistery beside it is decorated with frescoes by Giusto de' Menabuoi.

The Scrovegni Chapel is a small brick church in Padua, commissioned by the banker Enrico Scrovegni and consecrated in 1305. Giotto and his workshop covered its walls and vault with frescoes of the lives of the Virgin and Christ and a Last Judgement. It is part of the UNESCO site of Padua's 14th-century fresco cycles; visits are booked in timed slots.

The Basilica of Saint Anthony of Padua, known locally as "il Santo", holds the tomb of the Franciscan saint, who died in 1231. Built from about 1232 to 1310, it mixes Romanesque, Byzantine and Gothic forms, with domes modelled on St Mark's in Venice. Donatello's equestrian statue of Gattamelata stands on the square in front.

The Abbey of Santa Giustina is a Benedictine monastery on Prato della Valle in Padua, on the site where a church over the tomb of the martyr Justina stood by the 6th century. The present basilica was begun in 1501 and consecrated in 1606. It holds works by Paolo Veronese and relics venerated as those of Saint Luke and Saint Matthias.