Padua and St Anthony

Padua

We arrived at Padua. The waiters at the hotel were all over us and we spoiled their interest by requesting peace and quite as we were exhausted. The next day we would regret having being tired as we realised how handsome and ready to please they were.

The most famous of the Paduan churches is the Basilica di Sant'Antonio da Padova, locally simply known as "Il Santo". The bones of the saint rest in a chapel richly ornamented with carved marbles, the work of various artists, among them of Sansovino and Falconetto; the basilica was begun about the year 1230 and completed in the following century; tradition says that the building was designed by Nicola Pisano; it is covered by seven cupolas, two of them pyramidal.

On the piazza in front of the church is Donatello's magnificent equestrian statue of the Venetian general Gattamelata (Erasmo da Narni), which was cast in 1453, the first full-size equestrian bronze cast since antiquity; it was inspired by the Marcus Aurelius equestrian sculpture at the Capitoline Hill in Rome.

There are also four beautiful cloisters to visit. To be known, Sant'Antonio is Vatican territory. 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 Riformatorio dello studio de Padova. The list of professors and alumni is long and illustrious, containing, among others, the names of Bembo, Sperore Speroni, the anatomist Vesalius. Copernicus, Fallopious, Fabrizio d'Acquapendente, Galileo, Galilei,Pietro Pomponazzi, Reginald,later Cardinal Pole,Scalier,Tasso and Sobieski.

The university hosts the oldest anatomy theatre (built in 1594) and the oldest botanical garden (1545) in the world.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, 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 XVIIIth and XIXth centuries. The famous sculptor Antonio Canova made his first work in Padua, one among the statues of Prato della Valle (now a copy stays at 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 has been built in 1897 by the Jesuit fathers, and kept alive until 2002.

During WWII, under the lead of P.Messori Roncaglia SJ, it became the center of the resistance war against the Nazism. Indeed, it briefly survived P.Messori's death, and it was sold by the Jesuits in 2004.

Some sites are trying to collect what can still be found of the college: (1) a no-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.

I am sure there were more important heritage and relevant information that could have been shown to us about Padua; but to see St Anthony's finger preserved in a glass and brass ornamental container appeared to be “The item” to see, and the memory to take away with us from this beautiful city.I remembered being a bit sick by the preserved digital member of St Anthony that lived some centuries before.

For me his significance was concentrated in St Anthony's prayer and his image in a brown monk's habit. The prayer we were taught as children and we were instructed to believe that it was beneficial to recite when one lost something important. Mind you, you would only find it, if you manage to recite the prayer correctly the first time. Otherwise the item was lost for ever!

This is the prayer, I will not bother translating it;

Si buscas milagros, ruinas,muerte y error desterrados,miseria y demonios huidos,leprosos y enfermos sanos. El mar sosiega tu ira,redímense encarcelados;miembros y bienes perdidos recobran mozos y ancianos. El peligro se retira,los pobres van remediados;cuéntenlo los socorridos,díganlo los paduanos. Gloria al Padre,gloria al Hijo,gloria al "Espíritu y Santo".El mar sosiega su ira,redímense encarcelados;miembros y bienes perdidos recobran mozos y ancianos. Ruega a Cristo por nosotros,Antonio glorioso, santo,para que dignos así de tus promesas seamos.

Padua has one of the oldest universities in the world. Galileo taught there from 1592-1610. The famous Anatomy Theatre where Vesalius taught through dissections is the oldest in the world. The botanical garden Orto Botanico di Padova was founded in 1545 as the garden of curative herbs attached to the University's faculty of medicine. It is the oldest botanical garden in the world and still contains an important collection of rare plants.

From Padua we were transported to Venice. Amazement is the only word I can think off to describe this island without streets.