Padova, Venice (again) and a gross looking tongue from a popular Saint
Padova is an extreme college town. Not quite to College Station, TX, level but close. Before booking a room on this trek from city to city, I find myself reviewing the spreadsheet I put together before leaving home for the recommended Rick Steves stays. Rick’s hotel choices have changed a bit over the years (with one exception I’ll explain later) but are usually a good value and clean. Andy’s hostel recommendations are more to my liking but his guide book only covers a small number of big cities in Europe. So, in Padova, I booked Rick’s recommend Hotel Majestic in the Jewish ghetto neighborhood. Beautiful hotel but a bit pretentious for my liking on this solo trip.
I was less impressed with Padova than Verona and other stops. Main sites were covered in one afternoon including a visit to St. Anthony’s tomb within the basilica bearing his name. This was a great church to visit. My guidebook kept stressing patience due to the crowd crush waiting to touch St Anthony’s tomb and again to see, very close up, the prized relics on display but like most of the sites I’ve visited, there are no crowds. It’s customary to place your hand on St. Anthony’s the tomb and say a prayer of thanks or to ask for help, usually from an ailment or sickness. Pilgrims look to St. Anthony as their protector. The relics include St. Anthony’s lower jaw with very intact teeth, his tongue and vocal cords. For the record, my back still hurts!!
The main site in Padova is the Scrovegni Chapel, known for its preserved series of 40 frescos from the early 1300’s depicting the lives of Jesus and Mary. Reservations are required for entry and once inside, there is a 15-minute dehumidification period before access to the chapel is permitted. Inside the actual chapel, you have 20-minutes to enjoy the frescoes before being ushered out so the next group can enter. Apparently the Scrovegni Chapel is considered one of the top pilgrimage sites in all of Christendom. Oh, by the way, the Chapel was closed for maintenance over the days I happened to be in Padova.
A short 20-minute train ride took me to Vicenza, a small town known for its architecture and more specifically the work of 16th century Renaissance architect Palladio. I only spent a couple hours in Vicenza but did get a chance to see Palladio’s famous Olympic Theatre.
Back on the train to Padova, I thought, why not…..20-minutes beyond is Venice and I had a few hours to kill. It was cold and rainy in Venice (perfect weather) so I found a nice quiet Irish Pub and had a few beers. Kinda cool to say I swung by Venice for a beer!
Where to go next……..I woke up my final morning in Padova without a destination in mind or a place booked to stay the night. After a 30-minute walk to the train station I picked the next train out and bought a ticket to, Ravenna. Not the most scenic of towns but it was listed on my spreadsheet as a potential stopover. I stayed at the dumpy, overpriced Hotel Italia next to the train station. Although not a recommended hotel, it was listed in the credits of the Rick Steves show that spent about 5-minutes on Ravenna. This hotel was very much the opposite of pretentious! That said, I had my best night of sleep this trip. The tourist sites in Ravenna are solid! The preserved late Roman and Byzantine architecture and the stunning mosaics were worth the visit.
