Padua (Italian Italian ( italiano , or lingua italiana) is a Romance language spoken as a native language by about 62 million people in Italy, San Marino and parts of Switzerland, Croatia, Slovenia and France. It is spoken as a first language by many Italian citizens and immigrants abroad, for a total of approximately 70 million native speakers. In addition, it: Padova listen (help·info), pronounced [ˈpadova], Latin Latin or sometimes Roman is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. Although often considered a dead language, in view of the fact that it has no native, fluent speakers, Latin continues to be taught in schools and has been, and currently is, used in the process of new word production in modern languages from many: Patavium, Venetian Venetian or Venetan is a Romance language spoken as native language by over two million people, mostly in the Veneto region of Italy, where of five million inhabitants almost all can understand it. It is sometime spoken and often well understood outside Veneto, in Trentino, Friuli, Venezia Giulia, Istria and some towns of Dalmatia, an area of six: Padoa) is a city and comune In Italy, the comune is the basic administrative division, and may be properly approximated in casual speech by the English word township or municipality in the Veneto Veneto , is one of the 20 regions of Italy. Its population is about 4.8 million. Having been for a long period in history a land of mass emigration, Veneto is today one of the greatest immigrant-receiving regions in the country, with 454,453 foreigners (9.30% of the regional population) in 2008, the most recent of which are the Romanians and the, northern Italy Italy (pronounced /ˈɪtəli/ ; Italian: Italia [iˈtaːlja]), officially the Italian Republic (Italian: Repubblica italiana), is a country located partly on the European Continent and partly on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe and on the two largest islands in the Mediterranean Sea, Sicily and Sardinia. Italy shares its northern, Alpine. It is the capital of the province of Padua and the economic and communications hub of the area. Padua's population is 212,500 (as of 2008[update]). The city is sometimes included, with Venice Venice (Italian: Venezia [veˈnɛttsia] , Venetian: Venesia) is a city in northern Italy known both for tourism and for industry, and is the capital of the region Veneto, with a population of 271,367 (census estimate 1 January 2004). Together with Padua, the city is included in the Padua-Venice Metropolitan Area (population 1,600,000). The name is (Italian Italian ( italiano , or lingua italiana) is a Romance language spoken as a native language by about 62 million people in Italy, San Marino and parts of Switzerland, Croatia, Slovenia and France. It is spoken as a first language by many Italian citizens and immigrants abroad, for a total of approximately 70 million native speakers. In addition, it Venezia), in the Padua-Venice Metropolitan Area A metropolitan area is a large population center consisting of a large metropolis and its adjacent zone of influence, or of more than one closely adjoining neighboring central cities and their zone of influence. One or more large cities may serve as its hub or hubs, and the metropolitan area is normally named after either the largest or most, having a population of c. 1,600,000.

Padua stands on the Bacchiglione River, 40 km west of Venice Venice (Italian: Venezia [veˈnɛttsia] , Venetian: Venesia) is a city in northern Italy known both for tourism and for industry, and is the capital of the region Veneto, with a population of 271,367 (census estimate 1 January 2004). Together with Padua, the city is included in the Padua-Venice Metropolitan Area (population 1,600,000). The name is and 29 km southeast of Vicenza Vicenza listen , a city in north-eastern Italy, is the capital of the eponymous province in the Veneto region, at the northern base of the Monte Berico, straddling the Bacchiglione. Vicenza is approximately 60 km west of Venice and 200 km east of Milan. The Brenta River, which once ran through the city, still touches the northern districts. Its agricultural setting is the Pianura Veneta. To the city's south west lies the Euganaean Hills, praised by Lucan and Martial Marcus Valerius Martialis (March 1, between 38 and 41 AD - between 102 and 104 AD), was a Latin poet from Hispania (the Iberian Peninsula) best known for his twelve books of Epigrams, published in Rome between AD 86 and 103, during the reigns of the emperors Domitian, Nerva and Trajan. In these short, witty poems he cheerfully satirises city life, Petrarch Francesco Petrarca , known in English as Petrarch, was an Italian scholar, poet and one of the earliest Renaissance humanists. Petrarch is often called the "Father of Humanism". In the 16th century, Pietro Bembo created the model for the modern Italian language based on Petrarch's works, as well as those of Giovanni Boccaccio and,, Ugo Foscolo Foscolo was born on the Ionian island of Zakynthos. His father was Andrea Foscolo, an impoverished Venetian nobleman, and his mother Diamantina Spathis was Greek, and Shelley Percy Bysshe Shelley was one of the major English Romantic poets and is critically regarded among the finest lyric poets in the English language. Shelley was famous for his association with John Keats and Lord Byron. The novelist Mary Shelley was his second wife.

It hosts the renowned Universita' di Padova, almost 800 years-old and famous for having had Galileo Galilei Galileo Galilei was an Italian physicist, mathematician, astronomer, and philosopher who played a major role in the Scientific Revolution. His achievements include improvements to the telescope and consequent astronomical observations, and support for Copernicanism. Galileo has been called the "father of modern observational astronomy," among its lecturers.

The city is picturesque, with a dense network of arcaded streets opening into large communal piazze, and many bridges crossing the various branches of the Bacchiglione, which once surrounded the ancient walls like a moat A moat is a deep, broad ditch, either dry or filled with water, that surrounds a castle, building or town, historically to provide it with a preliminary line of defense. In some places moats evolved into more extensive water defenses, including natural or artificial lakes, dams and sluices. In later castles the moat or water defences may be.

Padua is the setting for most of the action in Shakespeare William Shakespeare [a] was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon".[b] His surviving works, including some collaborations, consist of 38 plays,[c] 154 sonnets, two long narrative's The Taming of the Shrew The Taming of the Shrew is a comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1590 and 1594.

Contents

History

Antiquity

Padua claims to be the oldest city in northern Italy. According to a tradition dated at least to Virgil Publius Vergilius Maro (October 15, 70 BCE – September 21, 19 BCE) was a classical Roman poet, best known for three major works—the Eclogues (or Bucolics), the Georgics, and the Aeneid—although several minor poems are also attributed to him's Aeneid The Aeneid is a Latin epic poem written by Virgil in the late 1st century BC (29–19 BC) that tells the legendary story of Aeneas, a Trojan who traveled to Italy, where he became the ancestor of the Romans. It is composed of roughly 10,000 lines in dactylic hexameter. The first six of the poem's twelve books tell the story of Aeneas' wanderings, and rediscovered by the medieval commune Communes in Europe during the Middle Ages were sworn allegiances of mutual defense among the citizens of a town or city. They took many forms, and varied widely in organization and makeup. Communes are first recorded in the late 11th and early 12th centuries, thereafter becoming a widespread phenomenon. They had the greater development in central-, it was founded in 1183 BC by the Trojan Troy was a city, both factual and legendary, located in what is now northwest Turkey. It is best known for being the focus of the Trojan War, as described in the Epic Cycle and especially in the Iliad, one of the two epic poems attributed to Homer. Trojan refers to the inhabitants and culture of Troy. Metrical evidence from the Iliad and the prince Antenor In Greek mythology, Antenor was a son of the Dardanian noble Aesyetes by Cleomestra. He was one of the wisest of the Trojan elders and counsellors. Antenor was husband of Theano, daughter of Cisseus of Thrace, who bore him numerous children, mostly sons (most of whom perished during the Trojan War). Before and during the Trojan War, he was a, who was supposed to have led the people of Eneti or Veneti from Paphlagonia Paphlagonia was an ancient area on the Black Sea coast of north central Anatolia, situated between Bithynia to the west and Pontus to the east, and separated from Phrygia by a prolongation to the east of the Bithynian Olympus. According to Strabo, the river Parthenius formed the western limit of the region, and it was bounded on the east by the to Italy. The city exhumed a large stone sarcophagus in the year 1274 and declared these to represent Antenor's relics.

Patavium, as Padua was known by the Romans The Roman Republic was the phase of the ancient Roman civilization characterised by a republican form of government. It began with the overthrow of the Roman monarchy, c. 509 BC, and lasted 482 years until its subversion, through a series of civil wars, into the Principate form of government and the Imperial period, was inhabited by (Adriatic) Veneti. They were reputed for their excellent breed of horses and the wool of their sheep. Its men fought for the Romans at Cannae Cannae is an ancient village of the Apulia region of south east Italy. It is a frazione of the comune of Barletta. The city was a Roman municipium The citizens of municipia of the first order held full Roman citizenship and their rights included the right to vote, which was the ultimate right in Rome, and a sure sign of full rights since 45 BC (os 43. It became so powerful that it was reportedly able to raise two hundred thousand fighting men. Abano, which is nearby, is the birthplace of the reputed historian Livy Titus Livius , known as Livy in English, was a Roman historian who wrote a monumental history of Rome and the Roman people, Ab Urbe Condita Libri, "Chapters from the Foundation of the City," covering the period from the earliest legends of Rome well before the traditional foundation in 753 BCE through the reign of Augustus in Livy's own. Padua was also the birthplace of Valerius Flaccus Gaius Valerius Flaccus was a Roman poet who flourished in the "Silver Age" under the emperors Vespasian and Titus and wrote a Latin Argonautica that owes a great deal to Apollonius of Rhodes' more famous epic, Asconius Pedianus and Thrasea Paetus.

The area is said to have been Christianized by Saint Prosdocimus. He is venerated as the first bishop of the city.

Late Antiquity

The history of Padua after Late Antiquity Late Antiquity is a periodization used by historians to describe the time of transition from Classical Antiquity to the Middle Ages, in both mainland Europe and the Mediterranean world. Precise boundaries for the period are a matter of debate, but noted historian of the period Peter Brown proposed a period between the second and eighth centuries follows the course of events common to most cities of north-eastern Italy.

Padua, in common with north-eastern Italy, suffered severely from the invasion of the Huns The Huns were a group of nomadic pastoral people who, appearing from beyond the Volga, migrated into Europe c. 370 AD and built up an enormous empire in Europe. Since De Guignes linked them with the Xiongnu who had been northern neighbours of China three hundred years before, considerable scholarly effort has been devoted in investigating such a under Attila Attila , also known as Attila the Hun or the Scourge of God (in Latin Flagellum Dei), was the ruler of the Huns from 434 until his death in 453. He was leader of the Hunnic Empire, which stretched from Germany to the Ural River and from the Danube River to the Baltic Sea. During his rule, he was one of the most fearsome of the Western and Eastern (452). It then passed under the Gothic The Goths were a heterogeneous East Germanic tribe, who played an important role in the history of the Roman Empire after they appeared on its lower Danube frontier in the third century kings Odoacer Odoacer , also known as Odovacer, was a Germanic foederati general who on 4 September 476 AD deposed the last Western Roman Emperor, Romulus Augustus and Theodoric the Great Theodoric the Great (Gothic: Þiudareiks; Latin: Flāvius Theodoricus; Greek: Θευδέριχος, ; Old English: Þēodrīc; German: Dietrich von Bern; Old Norse: Þjóðrekr, Þiðrek; 454 – August 30, 526), was king of the Ostrogoths (471-526), ruler of Italy (493–526), regent of the Visigoths (511–526), and a viceroy of the (Eastern). However during the Gothic War it submitted to the Greeks The Byzantine Empire was the Roman Empire as it existed during the Middle Ages, centered on the capital of Constantinople, and ruled by the Byzantine emperors, direct successors to the ancient Roman emperors. It was called the Roman Empire and also Romania (Greek: Ῥωμανία, Rhōmanía) by its inhabitants and neighbours. As the distinction in 540. The city was seized again by the Goths under Totila, but was restored to the Eastern Empire by Narses Narses (478-573) was, with Belisarius, one of the great generals in the service of the Eastern Roman Emperor Justinian I during the "Reconquest" that took place during Justinian's reign. Narses was a Romanized Armenian from the noble Kamsarakan family, which claimed descent from the royal Arsacid dynasty. He spent most of his life as a in 568.

Then it fell under the control of the Lombards The Lombards were a Germanic people originally from Northern Europe who settled in the valley of the Danube and from there invaded Byzantine Italy in 568 under the leadership of Alboin. They established a Lombard Kingdom, later named Kingdom of Italy, which lasted until 774, when it was conquered by the Franks. Their influence on Italian political. In 601, the city rose in revolt, against Agilulf Agilulf, called the Thuringian, was the duke of Turin and king of the Lombards in Italy, the cousin of his predecessor Authari. Son of the Duke Ansvald of Turin,[citation needed] he was raised on the shield by the warriors in Milan in May 591, on the advice, sought by the Lombard council, of the Catholic queen Theodelinda, whom he soon married, the Lombard king. After suffering a long (12 years) and bloody siege, it was stormed and burned by him. The antiquity of Padua was annihilated: the remains of an amphitheater (the Arena) and some bridge foundations are all that remain of Roman Padua today. The townspeople fled to the hills and returned to eke out a living among the ruins; the ruling class abandoned the city for Laguna[disambiguation needed], according to a chronicle. The city did not easily recover from this blow, and Padua was still weak when the Franks The Franks were a West Germanic tribal confederation first attested in the third century as living north and east of the Lower Rhine River. From the third to fifth centuries some Franks raided Roman territory while other Franks joined the Roman troops in Gaul. Only the Salian Franks formed a kingdom on Roman-held soil that was acknowledged by the succeeded the Lombards as masters of northern Italy.

Frankish and episcopal supremacy

At the Diet of Aix-la-Chapelle (828), the duchy and march of Friuli A march or mark refers to a border region similar to a frontier, such as the Welsh Marches, the borderland between England and Wales. During the Frankish Carolingian Dynasty, the word spread throughout Europe, in which Padua lay, was divided into four counties, one of which took its title from the city of Padua.

During the period of episcopal The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with more than a billion members. The Church's leader is the Pope who holds supreme authority in concert with the College of Bishops of which he is the head. A communion of the Western church and 22 autonomous Eastern Catholic churches (called supremacy over the cities of northern Italy, Padua does not appear to have been either very important or very active. The general tendency of its policy throughout the war of investitures The Investiture Controversy or Investiture Contest was the most significant conflict between Church and state in medieval Europe. In the 11th and 12th centuries, a series of popes challenged the authority of European monarchies over control of appointments, or investitures, of church officials such as bishops and abbots. Although the principal was Imperial and not Roman; and its bishops were, for the most part, Germans.

The main event of the High Middle Ages The Middle Ages is a period of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The period followed the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476, and preceded the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period in a three-period division of history: Classical, Medieval, and Modern. The term "Middle Ages" (medium aevum) was coined in was the sack of the city by the Magyars Hungarians are an ethnic group primarily associated with Hungary, a Central European state, and its predecessor states (the Kingdom of Hungary and the People's Republic of Hungary). There are around 14 million Hungarians, of whom 10 million live in today's Hungary (as of 2001). About 2.5 million Hungarians live in areas that belonged to (the in 899. It was many years before Padua recovered from this ravage.

Emergence of the commune

Under the surface, several important movements were taking place that were to prove formative for the later development of Padua.

At the beginning of the 11th century As a means of recording the passage of time, the 11th century is the period from 1001 to 1100 in accordance with the Julian calendar in the Christian/Common Era the citizens established a constitution, composed of a general council or legislative assembly Legislative Assembly is the name given in some countries to either a legislature, or to one of its branch. The name is used by a number of member-states of the Commonwealth of Nations, as well as a number of Latin American countries and a credenza or executive body.

During the next century they were engaged in wars with Venice and Vicenza for the right of water-way on the Bacchiglione and the Brenta. This meant that the city grew in power and self-reliance.

The great families of Camposampiero, Este The House of Este is a European princely dynasty. It is split into two branches; the elder is known as the House of Welf-Este or House of Welf, the younger, as the House of Fulc-Este or later simply as the House of Este. Both are related in antiquity to the eight-hundred-year-old House of Wettin and Da Romano began to emerge and to divide the Paduan district among themselves. The citizens, in order to protect their liberties, were obliged to elect a podestà Podestà is the name given to certain high officials in many Italian cities, since the later Middle Ages, mainly as Chief magistrate of a city state , but also as a local administrator, the representative of the (Holy Roman) Emperor. Their choice first fell on one of the Este family.

A fire devastated Padua in 1174. This required the virtual rebuilding of the city.

The Cathedral of Padua

The temporary success of the Lombard League helped to strengthen the towns. However their civic jealousy soon reduced them to weakness again. As a result, in 1236 Frederick II found little difficulty in establishing his vicar Ezzelino III da Romano in Padua and the neighbouring cities, where he practised frightful cruelties on the inhabitants. Ezzelino was unseated in June 1256 without civilian bloodshed, thanks to Pope Alexander IV.

Padua then enjoyed a period of calm and prosperity: the basilica of the saint was begun; and the Paduans became masters of Vicenza. The university (the third in Italy) was founded in 1222, and it flourished in the 1200s.

However the advances of Padua in the 13th century finally brought them into conflict with Can Grande della Scala, lord of Verona. In 1311 Padua had to yield to Verona.

Jacopo da Carrara was elected lord of Padua in 1318. From then till 1405, nine members of the enlightened Carraresi family succeeded one another as lords of the city, with the exception of a brief period of Scaligeri overlordship between 1328 and 1337 and two years (1388–1390) when Giangaleazzo Visconti held the town. The Carraresi period was a long period of restlessness, for the Carraresi were constantly at war. In 1387 John Hawkwood won the Battle of Castagnaro for Padova, against Giovanni Ordelaffi, for Verona.

The Carraresi period finally came to an end as power of the Visconti and of Venice grew in importance.

Venetian rule

Padua passed under Venetian rule in 1405, and so mostly remained until the fall of the Venetian Republic in 1797.

There was just a brief period when the city changed hands (in 1509) during the wars of the League of Cambray. On 10 December 1508, representatives of the Papacy, France, the Holy Roman Empire, and Ferdinand I of Spain concluded the League of Cambrai against the Republic. The agreement provided for the complete dismemberment of Venice's territory in Italy and for its partition among the signatories: Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I of the Habsburg, was to receive Padua in addition to Verona and other territories. In 1509 Padua was taken for just a few weeks by Imperial supporters. Venetian troops quickly recovered it and successfully defended Padua during siege by Imperial troops. (Siege of Padua (1509)). The city was governed by two Venetian nobles, a podestà for civil and a captain for military affairs. Each was elected for sixteen months. Under these governors, the great and small councils continued to discharge municipal business and to administer the Paduan law, contained in the statutes of 1276 and 1362. The treasury was managed by two chamberlains; and every five years the Paduans sent one of their nobles to reside as nuncio in Venice, and to watch the interests of his native town.

Venice fortified Padua with new walls, built between 1507 and 1544, with a series of monumental gates.

Austrian rule

In 1797 the Venetian Republic was wiped off the map by the Treaty of Campo Formio, and Padua was ceded to the Austrian Empire. After the fall of Napoleon, in 1814, the city became part of the Kingdom of Lombardy-Venetia.

The Austrians were unpopular with progressive circles in northern Italy. In Padua, the year of revolutions of 1848 saw a student revolt which on February 8 turned the University and the Caffè Pedrocchi into battlegrounds in which students and ordinary Paduans fought side by side.

Under Austrian rule, Padua began its industrial development; one of the first Italian rail tracks, Padua-Venice, was built in 1845.

In 1866 the battle of Koniggratz gave Italy the opportunity to push the Austrians out of the old Venetian republic as Padua and the rest of the Veneto were annexed to the recently united Kingdom of Italy.

Italian rule

Annexed to Italy during 1866, Padua was at the centre of the poorest area of Northern Italy, as Veneto was until 1960s. Despite this, the city flourished in the following decades both economically and socially, developing its industry, being an important agricultural market and having a very important cultural and technological centre as the University. The city hosted also a major military command and many regiments.

The 20th century

When Italy entered the Great War on 24 May 1915, Padua was chosen as the main command of the Italian Army. The king, Vittorio Emanuele III, and the commander in chief Cadorna went to live in Padua for the war period. After the defeat of Italy in the battle of Caporetto in autumn 1917, the front line was situated on the river Piave. This was just 50–60 km from Padua, and the city was now in range from the Austrian artillery. However the Italian military command did not withdraw. The city was bombed several times (about 100 civilian deaths). A memorable feat was Gabriele D'Annunzio's flight to Vienna from the nearby San Pelagio Castle air field.

A year later, the danger to Padua was removed. In late October 1918, the Italian Army won the decisive battle of Vittorio Veneto (exactly a year after Caporetto), and the Austrian forces collapsed. The armistice was signed in Padua, at Villa Giusti, on 3 November 1918, with Austria-Hungary surrendering to Italy.

During the war, industry progressed strongly, and this gave Padua a base for further post-war development. In the years immediately following the Great War, Padua developed outside the historical town, enlarging and growing in population. even if labor and social strife was rampant at the time.

As in many other areas in Italy and abroad, Padua experienced great social turmoil in the years immediately following the Great War. The city was swept by strikes and clashes, factories and fields were subject to occupation, and war veterans struggled to re-enter civilian life. Many supported a new political way: Fascism. As in other parts of Italy, the fascist party in Padua soon came to be seen as the defender of property and order against revolution. The city was also the site of one of the largest fascist mass rallies, with some 300,000 people reportedly attending one Mussolini speech.

New buildings, in typical fascist architecture, sprang up in the city. Examples can be found today in the buildings surrounding Piazza Spalato (today Piazza Insurrezione), the railway station, the new part of City Hall, and part of the Bo Palace hosting the University.

Following Italy's defeat in the Second World War on 8 September 1943, Padua became part of the Italian Social Republic, i.e., the puppet state of the Nazi occupiers. The city hosted the Ministry of Public Instruction of the new state, as well as military and militia commands and a military airport. The Resistenza, the Italian partisans, was very active against both the new fascist rule and the Nazis. One of the main leaders was the University vice-chancellor Concetto Marchesi.

Padua was bombed several times by Allied planes. The worst hit areas were the railway station and the northern district of Arcella. During one of these bombings, the beautiful Eremitani church, with Mantegna frescoes, was destroyed (considered by some art historians to be Italy's biggest wartime cultural loss).

The city was finally liberated by partisans and New Zealand troops on 28 April 1945. A small Commonwealth War Cemetery is in the west part of the city, to remember the sacrifice of these troops.

After the war, the city developed rapidly, reflecting Veneto's rise from being the poorest region in northern Italy to one of the richest and most active regions of modern Italy.

Geography

Climate

Padua experiences a humid subtropical climate (Köppen climate classification Cfa) characteristic of Northern Italy.

Climate data for Padua
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Average high °C (°F) 5.72 (42.3) 8.78 (47.8) 13.11 (55.6) 17.5 (63.5) 22.39 (72.3) 26 (78.8) 28.39 (83.1) 27.89 (82.2) 24.5 (76.1) 18.78 (65.8) 11.5 (52.7) 6.5 (43.7) 17.61 (63.7)
Average low °C (°F) -1.39 (29.5) 0.5 (32.9) 3.5 (38.3) 7.39 (45.3) 11.61 (52.9) 15.28 (59.5) 17.5 (63.5) 16.89 (62.4) 13.78 (56.8) 8.78 (47.8) 3.72 (38.7) -0.39 (31.3) 8.11 (46.6)
Precipitation mm (inches) 71 (2.8) 56 (2.2) 66 (2.6) 69 (2.7) 79 (3.1) 89 (3.5) 64 (2.5) 79 (3.1) 58 (2.3) 66 (2.6) 86 (3.4) 64 (2.5) 846 (33.3)
Source: Intellicast[1]

Main sights

Last Judgment by Giotto, part of the Scrovegni Chapel. Palazzo della Ragione. The Basilica of Saint Anthony of Padua. The Basilica of St. Giustina, facing the great piazza of Prato della Valle.

In the neighbourhood of Padua are numerous noble villas. These include:

Gallery

This tempera, Two Christians before the Judges, hangs in the city's Cathedral.

Façade of the church of San Gaetano Thiene, (1574-86) by Vincenzo Scamozzi

The apse area of Santa Sofia.

Culture

Botanical Garden (Orto Botanico), Padua*
UNESCO World Heritage Site
State Party Italy
Type Cultural
Criteria ii, iii
Reference 824
Region** Europe and North America
Inscription history
Inscription 1997 (21st Session)
* Name as inscribed on World Heritage List. ** Region as classified by UNESCO.

Padua has long been famous for its university, founded in 1222. Under the rule of Venice the university was governed by a board of three patricians, called the Riformatori dello Studio di Padova. The list of professors and alumni is long and illustrious, containing, among others, the names of Bembo, Sperone Speroni, the anatomist Vesalius, Copernicus, Fallopius, Fabrizio d'Acquapendente, Galileo Galilei, Pietro Pomponazzi, Reginald, later Cardinal Pole, Scaliger, Tasso and Sobieski. It is also where, in 1678, Elena Lucrezia Cornaro Piscopia became the first woman in the world to graduate. The university hosts the oldest anatomy theatre, built in 1594.

The university also hosts the oldest botanical garden (1545) in the world. The botanical garden Orto Botanico di Padova was founded as the garden of curative herbs attached to the University's faculty of medicine. It still contains an important collection of rare plants.

The place of Padua in the history of art is nearly as important as its place in the history of learning. The presence of the university attracted many distinguished artists, such as Giotto, Fra Filippo Lippi and Donatello; and for native art there was the school of Francesco Squarcione, whence issued the great Mantegna.

Padua is also the birth place of the famous architect Andrea Palladio, whose XVIth century "ville" (country-houses) in the area of Padua, Venice, Vicenza and Treviso are among the most beautiful of Italy and they were often copied during the XVIIIth and XIXth centuries; and of Giovanni Battista Belzoni, adventure-man, engineer and egyptologist.

The famous sculptor Antonio Canova produced his first work in Padua, one of which is among the statues of Prato della Valle (presently a copy is displayed in the open air, while the original is in the Musei Civici, Civic Museums).

One the most relevant places in the life of the city has certainly been The Antonianum. Settled among Prato della Valle, the Saint Anthony church and the Botanic Garden it was built in 1897 by the Jesuit fathers and kept alive until 2002. During WWII, under the leadership of P. Messori Roncaglia SJ, it became the center of the resistance movement against the Nazis. Indeed, it briefly survived P. Messori's death and was sold by the Jesuits in 2004. Some sites are trying to collect what can still be found of the college: (1) a non-profit pixel site is collecting links to whatever is available on the web; (2) a student association created in the college is still operating and connecting Alumni.

Demographics

Historical populations
Year Pop. %±
1871 64,862 —
1881 70,753 9.1%
1901 81,242 14.8%
1911 96,118 18.3%
1921 108,912 13.3%
1931 126,843 16.5%
1936 138,709 9.4%
1951 167,672 20.9%
1961 197,680 17.9%
1971 231,599 17.2%
1981 234,678 1.3%
1991 215,137 −8.3%
2001 204,870 −4.8%
2009 (Est.) 213,151 4.0%
Source: ISTAT 2001

In 2007, there were 210,301 people residing in Padua, located in the province of Padua, Veneto, of whom 47.1% were male and 52.9% were female. Minors (children ages 18 and younger) totalled 14.87 percent of the population compared to pensioners who number 23.72 percent. This compares with the Italian average of 18.06 percent (minors) and 19.94 percent (pensioners). The average age of Padua residents is 45 compared to the Italian average of 42. In the five years between 2002 and 2007, the population of Padua grew by 2.21 percent, while Italy as a whole grew by 3.85 percent.[4] The current birth rate of Padua is 8.49 births per 1,000 inhabitants compared to the Italian average of 9.45 births.

As of 2006, 90.66% of the population was Italian. The largest immigrant group comes from other European nations (the largest being Romanians, Moldovans, and Albanians): 5.14%, sub-saharan Africa 1.08%, and East Asia: 1.04%. Currently 1 in 5 babies born in Padua has a foreign parent. The city is predominantly Roman Catholic, but due to immigration now has some Orthodox Christian, Muslim and Hindu followers.[5][6]

Consulates

In Padua are located the consulates of: Canada, Croatia, Côte d'Ivoire, Peru, Poland, Switzerland and Uruguay. The South Korean consulate is to be opened soon.

Economy

The industrial area of Padova was created in 1946, in the eastern part of the city; now it is one of the biggest industrial zones in Europe, having an area of 11 million sqm. Here there are the main offices of 1300 industries employing 50,000 people. From each part of Europe goods arrive in Padua, where they are sent all over the world, especially to Asia. In the industrial zone there are two train stations, one fluvial port, three truck terminals, two highway exits and a lot of connected services, hotels, post offices and directional centres.

Transport

By car

By car, there are 3 motorways (autostrade in Italian): A4 Brescia-Padova, connecting it to Verona (then to Brenner Pass, Innsbruck and Bavaria) and Milan (then Switzerland, Turin and France); A4 Padova-Venezia, to Venice then Belluno (for Dolomites holiday resorts like Cortina) Trieste and Tarvisio (for Austria, Slovenia, Croatia and Eastern Europe); A13 Bologna-Padova, to Ferrara and Bologna (then Central and South Italy). You have to pay a toll to use most of the Italian motorways. Roads connect Padua with all the large and small centers of the region. A freeway with more than 20 exits surrounds the city, connecting districts and the small towns of the surrounding region.

By train

Padua has two train stations opened to the passenger service, named after the city. The station has 11 platforms and sometimes is incorrectly referred to as "Padova Centrale"; it is one of the biggest stations in Italy. More than 450 trains per day leave Padova. The station is used by over 20 millions passengers per year. Other train stations are Padova Ponte di Brenta (soon to be closed), Padova San Lazzaro (planned), Padova Campo di Marte, with no passenger service once used as a freight station which could become one of the stations of the "Servizio Ferroviario Metropolitano Regionale". From Padova, high speed trains connect to Milan, Rome, Bologna, Florence and Venice; one can reach Milan in 1h and 51 min, Rome in 3 hours and 20 min and Venice in 20 min.

The station was opened in 1842 when the service started on the first part of the Venice-Milan line (the "Imperial Regia Ferrovia Ferdinandea") built from Padua to Marghera through Mestre. Porta Marghera is a major port of the Venetian area.

Railways enthusiasts can visit the Signal Box A (Cabina A), preserved by the "Società Veneta Ferrovie" (a society named after the former public works and railway company, based in "Piazza Eremitani" in Padua) association.

By plane

Padua is relatively close to airports at Venice, Verona, Treviso and Bologna. The Padua airport, the "Gino Allegri" or Aeroporto civile di Padova "Gino Allegri", or Aeroporto di Padova, is no longer served by regularly scheduled flights. Padua is, however, the home of one of Italy's four Area Control Centers.

Venice, approximately 50 km away, is the nearest seaport.

Public transport

Translohr in Padua

Urban public transport includes public buses together with a new Translohr guided tramway (connecting Albignasego, in the south of Padua, with the Fornace, in the north of the city, thanks to the new line built in 2009) and private taxis. There's also a CitySightseeing tour Hop on Hop Off.

The city center is partly closed to vehicles, except for residents and permitted vehicles. There are some car parks surrounding the district. In this area, as well, there are some streets and squares restricted to pedestrian and bicycle use only.

Padua has approximately 40 bus lines, which are served by new buses, (purchased in 2008-9), with a television that displays the route line, the next stop, the most important monuments and the connection line and the expected waiting time for each line. Each tram/bus is equipped with security cameras and controlled by GPS.

The Veneto Region is building in Padua, a regional rail line (S-Bahn sistem) around the city with 15 new stations, the name will be SFMR and includes the province of Venice.

Sport

Padua is the home of Calcio Padova, a football team that plays in Italy's Serie B, and who played 16 Serie A championships (last 2 in 1995 and 1996, but the previous 14 between 1929 and 1962); the Petrarca Padova rugby union team, winner of 11 national championships (all between 1970 and 1987) and 2 national cups, and now plays in the Super 10 league; and the Pallavolo Padova volleyball club, once called Petrarca Padova as well, which plays in the Italian second division (A2) and who won a CEV cup in 1994. Basketball, cycling (Padua has been for several years home of the famous Giro del Veneto), rowing (two teams among the best ones in Italy, Canottieri Padova and Padova Canottaggio), horseback-riding and swimming are popular sports too.

The venues of these teams are: Stadio Euganeo for football and athletic, about 32,000 seats; Stadio Plebiscito for rugby union, about 9,000 seats; Palazzetto dello Sport San Lazzaro for volleyball and basketball, about 5,000 seats, and has just been restored; Ippodromo Breda - Le Padovanelle for horse races. The old and glorious Stadio Appiani, which hosted up to 21,000 people, presently reduced to 10,000 for security reasons twenty years ago, and near to Prato della Valle in the city central area, is almost abandoned and is to be restored. A small ice stadium for skating and hockey is about to be completed, with about 1,000 seats.

The F1 racing driver Riccardo Patrese (runner-up 1992, 3rd place in 1989 and 1991; held the world record for having started the most Formula One races, beaten by Rubens Barrichello during the 2008 season) was born and lives in Padova; the racing driver Alex Zanardi also lives in Padova.

The Bergamasco brothers were also born in Padova, as well as Bortolami, Marcato and Leonardo Ghiraldini, of the Italian Rugby national team. All of them started their careers in Petrarca Padova.

Famous footballers from Padua were Francesco Toldo, who was born here, and Alessandro Del Piero, who started his professional career in the Calcio Padova.

Twin towns — sister cities

See also: List of twin towns and sister cities in Italy

See also

References

  1. ^ "Padua historic weather averages". Intellicast. http://www.intellicast.com/Local/History.aspx?location=ITXX0054. Retrieved 25 September 2009.
  2. ^ Earth, Moon, and Planets (Springer Netherlands). 1999. http://www.springerlink.com/content/j183pm2144p42488/.
  3. ^ "Loggia Cornaro". Boglewood.com. http://www.boglewood.com/cornaro/xloggia.html. Retrieved 2009-05-06.
  4. ^ "Statistiche demografiche ISTAT". Demo.istat.it. http://demo.istat.it/bil2007/index.html. Retrieved 2009-05-06.
  5. ^ "Statistiche demografiche ISTAT". Demo.istat.it. http://demo.istat.it/str2006/index.html. Retrieved 2009-05-06.
  6. ^ "Statistiche demografiche ISTAT". Demo.istat.it. http://demo.istat.it/pop2006/index.html. Retrieved 2009-05-06.
  7. ^ "Boston Sister Cities". The City of Boston. http://www.cityofboston.gov/arts/sistercity.asp. Retrieved 2009-04-05.
  8. ^ "Acordos de Geminação" (in Portuguese). © 2009 Câmara Municipal de Coimbra - Praça 8 de Maio - 3000-300 Coimbra. http://www.cm-coimbra.pt/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=62&Itemid=128. Retrieved 2009-06-25.
This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be and removed. (May 2009)

External links

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Categories: Cities and towns in the Veneto | Communes of the Province of Padua | Padua | University towns

 

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Fri, 19 Feb 2010 18:33:00 GM

No American would ask the same question to a fellow citizen if that person moved from Baltimore to Buffalo or even among Italians to someone who moved from . Padua. to Palermo. However this question seems perfectly normal to ask a ...

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Padua Academy?
Q. There's a "movie" on youtube.com set at Padua Academy, an all-girls school located in Delaware. In the movie, girls sign a petition against women's suffrage, the right for women to vote. Does anyone live in Delaware or around Padua or go to Padua and if you do, is this a "big deal" in the area?
Asked by Jack - Mon Oct 23 01:45:10 2006 - - 1 Answers - 0 Comments

A. It's just a goof. They did the sqame bit on the Man Show 2v or 3 years ago. It shows how people will sign anything, without knowing about the thing they are signing. Shows how worthless petitions are.
Answered by Axle Nuts - Thu Oct 26 02:36:35 2006

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