Padova, Market

The Palazzo della Ragione (a huge building between Piazza della Frutta, and Piazza delle Erbe), was built in 1218 as the seat of the law courts. The first-floor covered market is called Europe’s oldest “mall,” and is still a beehive of food merchants, fishmongers, butchers, butter-and-egg men, fruit vendors, and florists. The second floor is occupied by a room with exceptional dimensions (265 by 88 feet), entirely frescoed with astrological subjects.

The six-domed Basilica of St. Anthony, the Saint’s Basilica (Basilica del Santo) is the most famous and artistically important architectural building in Padova. About the most memorable feature in Padova’s Duomo (cathedral, begun in 1135) a few blocks from St. Anthony’s, is the floor, laid with black and white tile, in an optical illusion pattern so realistic we felt we had to be careful where we placed our feet.

One year while repairs were being made to our video camera, we visited the Basilica del Santo, walked in the downtown area, shopped in the outdoor market, and just looked and looked in this fascinating ancient city. Three squares in the center of town, Piazza della Frutta, Piazza dei Signori and Piazza delle Erbe, are surrounded by old houses with arcades, and have been used for daily markets for centuries.