Padua, Vicenza Medieval Renaissance paintings and architecture

Itinerary
This is a typical itinerary for this product

Stop At: Prato della Valle, Padua Italy

After 40 minutes driving distance by highway, you will make the first stop in Padua, one of the most important art cities in Italy, for a morning visit.

Padua was a Roman city of which very little is left today. From the Middle Ages, the town develops with churches and palaces under the rule of the Carrara family. And it became an important university center that dates back to 1222, just after Bologna. In this town, we can admire a masterpiece of the Italian medieval art: the Scrovegni Chapel that Giotto frescoed to the Carrara family. It is required a pre-booked ticket to visit this building that must be purchased from their website.

Padua is also the city of St Anthony. In the basilica there are the relics of the saint, an important religious site visited by pilgrims coming from all over the world. And near this area, for botany lovers (and not only), we find the first university botanic garden in Europe. Founded in 1545, it is part of the Unesco World Heritage List, and member of Botanic Gardens Conservation International. Of particular value is the historic center with the Herbs squares and remarkable buildings. Worth a stop the Caffé Pedrocchi, the historic site of the Italian Risorgimento. This can be a right solution for your lunch.

Duration: 3 hours

Stop At: IAT Vicenza - Ufficio Informazioni e Accoglienza Turistica, Piazza Giacomo Matteotti 12, 36100 Vicenza Italy

After lunch, you will will leave the town of Padua to Vicenza, located at about 40 minutes driving distance by highway. Vicenza is a town listed as Unesco World Heritage where you can find masterpieces of the greatest architect of the Venetian Renaissance: Andrea Palladio. Some of those buildings are Villa La Rotonda, the Olympic Theater, and several palaces in the historical center. His work creates an architecture style known as Palladian which it spreads to England and other European countries, as well as to North America.

On the hilly side of the town that follows the edge of the Bacchiglione river, you will have time to visit 2 important Venetian villas: Villa Rotonda by Palladio and Villa Valmarana ai Nani famous for the frescoes of Giambattista and Giandomenico Tiepolo.

After a coffee break, you will return back to Venice, at the same place from where you started your tour.

Duration: 3 hours