"Mio Giornale Italiano": PADOVA: OLDEST ITALIAN CITY RICH IN HISTORY

[A Warm Welcome to Padua]

[Anatomico Theatre at the
University of Padua]

[Huge posters at various blocks
encouraging Italians to stay active]

[Traversing through the streets of Padua]

We visited Padua, acclaimed to be the oldest city here in Italy. As seen in the photos below, it seems to be cleaner than the other places we've visited. In addition, we saw a couple of posters that encouraged Italians to engage in physical activities. Like Lucca, the locals' main mode of transportation was their bicycle. Others simply walked.

The University of Padua is renowned for its medical school-- it's where Galileo Galilei used to lecture. We first dropped by the Anatomico Theatre, where cadavers during the Renaissance period were secretly dissected and studied.

Afterwards, we visited an old botanical garden called Orto Botanico. It was filled with various unique plants, beautiful flowers, small ponds with lilies, and also about herbs. I learned that if someone had a cough, boiling water and adding thyme would help.
We also went around the marketplace. It was a bit bigger than the one in Lucca, and it had more salami shops and bakeries. Since it was already lunch time, I ordered pizza with tomatoes and olives for €1.24 as well as sweet, grapes for €2. The grapes were super sweet and refreshing-'twas a perfect finger food on the go during the warm weather.
A little later, we had a tour of the Scrovegni Chapel by Giotto, which was completed in 1305. It's considered as one of the most symbolic masterpieces of Western art. It houses fresco style stories about the life of the Virgin Mary and her interaction with Jesus. The chapel's known to have been built for Enrico Scrovegni wanted to have his sins forgiven and for his father to sail through the afterlife with ease. Moreover, the chapel's built on land that was used to be a Roman Arena. I also learned that by being a part of Unesco, prevents outsiders from ruining the preserved artworks.
Our last stop was at St. Anthony's Basilica, which was extremely decorated for this was done before the Renaissance.. Mainly during the medieval times. The basilica's decorated ornately in Gothic style. Inside, I saw the Black Madonna (black coz the hair of Mary and Jesus were dark). I also was able to pray and touch the tomb of St. Anthony. Padua's such a beautiful city with a rich history! I would love to come back again to visit sometime!