From time to time we share a random video clip to fuel your travel dreams. Join us today as we visit the vast Palazzo della Ragione in Padova, Italy. Once the town’s medieval law court, it now hosts a sprawling market.
You can watch my complete TV episode about Italy’s Verona, Padova, and Ravenna for free on our website.
I just got an email that made me really happy. And I’ve got to share it. Last April, when I was filming in Padua, Italy, I posted a photo of Samuele, a crazy Italian student we worked with there who wanted to capitalize on his connection with me to get an American girl. He seemed nice enough — with great hair — so I thought I’d help him out. I posted his photo with this message: “If you’d like to meet a wild and crazy student from the north of Italy… there’s a good chance he’d like to meet you too. Contact Samuele via his Facebook page.”
Well, Samuele’s stunt worked and he found his girl. Check out this photo and note I received from Mandi Shaw-Koehler:
“Dear Rick,
I believe my mother was unable to contain her excitement and emailed you about my journey to Padua to visit Samuele Zanetti, whose photo you posted on facebook when you were filming with Padua’s Goliardia!!
I’ve been watching Rick Steves travel videos since I was a little kid. I’ve always had a strong sense of wanderlust, and I’m currently on week 9 of my epic 2014 “EuroTrip!!” I’m a senior at Rutgers University and just finished a summer semester in Berlin and now, armed with my Eurail pass, I’m visiting as many countries as possible before I fly home in August.
Anyway, when you posted Samuele’s photo I thought it was absolutely hilarious (and oh so Italian) and sent him a friend request. Lo and behold, we quickly became quite chatty and he invited me to stay at his apartment and offered to “be my tour guide” when I came to Italy. Well, he’s been nothing short of a perfect gentleman – he’s shown me around the entire city of Padua, day-tripped with me to Verona and Venice, and he’s an excellent cook! And of course, like you pointed out, he has great hair. This week has been the best week of my entire trip, and I gotta owe it all to you. When Sam’s friends ask “how did you guys meet?” he launches into the story in enthusiastic Italian, hand gestures and all. I really do think it’s quite a unique story.
The photo I’m sending was Samuele’s idea – we took it in the exact same location as the photo with you. So, thanks Rick — Samuele found his American girl!
Cheers from Padua!
Mandi Shaw-Koehler”
It’s fun to get off the beaten path when filming our TV series. The show we’re doing now is all about not going to Venice — instead, we’re visiting nearby places we’re calling “sotto-estimato”…underestimated: Verona, Padova, and Ravenna. While I love Venice, the welcome is warmer and less greedy in towns on the nearby mainland.
One of the most popular pilgrimage sites in all of Christendom is Padova’s Basilica of St. Anthony. And plenty of pilgrims were here celebrating the canonization of two recent popes, John XXIII and John Paul II.
Padova’s Scrovegni Chapel, with a precious and exquisite series of frescos by Giotto, is one of those super-fragile and popular art treasures (like Leonardo da Vinci’s Last Supper) where, in order to control the humidity, only a few people (who have reservations in advance) are allowed in for short visits. With our film work, rather than the normal 15-minute visit, we got to stay for two hours…and, four times each hour (as other visitors were ushered in and out), we had the chapel all to ourselves for a couple of delightful minutes. The last time we filmed here was 12 years ago, when it was covered in scaffolding. Making the best of a disappointing situation, we adjusted the script to focus on the restoration process itself. This time we enjoyed the chapel in all its Giotto glory.
Enjoying the artistic genius of Giotto in Padova’s Scrovegni Chapel is a highlight for any art lover. It’s amazing to consider that these scenes, including this Crucifixion, were frescoed 200 years before the age of Michelangelo and Leonardo.
The entire Scrovegni Chapel is frescoed by Giotto. And, while it’s a carefully designed series of panels showing events from the lives of Jesus and Mary with a dramatic Judgment Day filling the back wall, I enjoyed finding my own favorite little snippets. You can find countless details that, if framed and hung on a wall, would be gorgeously designed scenes on their own. This tiny segment is in the gruesome corner: the damned on Judgment Day, just kicking off what promises to be a pretty miserable eternity.
I love working hard with people equally committed to our mission of sharing the wonders of Europe with our travelers. And my crew — producer Simon Griffith and cameraman Karel Bauer — make TV production both a joy and very rewarding. We get to be alone with Europe’s greatest art. And after private time with the very greatest, we feel a special exhilaration. Even though none of us smokes tobacco, in moments like this, we joke that we need a cigarette.
Pilgrims and happy Roman Catholics were pouring into Rome last week for the canonization of two popes. And many among them were Poles celebrating the sainthood of their beloved Pope John Paul II (born Karol Wojtyla in communist-era Poland). Here in Italy, at Padova’s Basilica of Saint Anthony, a new painting of JPII has already joined the ranks of centuries of inspirational Christians who became saints. Being here as they put up a painting that travelers will stand before for generations to come is a reminder that we are part of history.
If you can’t see the video below, watch it on YouTube.
Our filming of the Italian university town of Padova continues. One of our challenges here was to capture a slice of student life. As you’ll see from these photos, I think we succeeded.
