Italy 2025 - Day 9: Padua - Amelia and Leela

Amelia and Leela:

A view of Padua’s Basilica di San Antonio.

We started off the day with breakfast with our host families. We then met up as a whole group outside of the school in Valdo to ride an hour long bus into Padua. Once we got to Padua, we took a walking tour of the Basilica of Sant Antonio, the Prato di Valle, and the Piazza delle Erbe.

The Poly group and our Italian friends walk through Prato di Valle.

A view of Piazza delle Erbe.

At each place, some of the Italian students gave English presentations about the history of the place. Then we had free time to explore the areas of Padua, eat lunch, and go shopping. After exploring the city, we met up as a group in the Piazza dei Signori.

The group gathers in Piazza dei Signori.

Once everyone was together, we took a short walk to the Scrovegni Chapel and its nearby museum. We and the Italian students and had some time to wander through the museum, which had beautiful vases, glass pieces, and stone-carved portraits. I really enjoyed seeing these historical pieces up close and getting to know our new Italian friends better.

Ancient vases and other artifacts at the Eremitani Museum of Padua.

A Roman funerary stele featuring a portrait of the deceased.

The chapel itself is one of the smaller ones we've seen, but it was still incredibly beautiful. Inside, the paintings by Giotto were breathtaking, with so much detail. Filiz and Alison gave a quick talk about Enrico Scrovegni, the chapel’s patron, and Giotto, the painter or the chapel’s frescoes, and how Giotto made some unique stylistic choices that set his work apart from the typical Byzantine designs of the time. I really appreciated our visit to the Scrovegni Chapel—it felt like a nice change of pace from the other architecture we’ve seen so far.

Filiz and Allison deliver their presentation on Giotto and his frescoes painted inside the Scrovegni Chapel.

The group and our Italian friends admire the interior of the Scrovegni Chapel.

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