Page 84 - Lonely Planet Europe’s Best Trips (Travel Guide)

(www.duomodimodena.it; historic centre is a after a road bridge, a turn-off
Corso Duomo; h7am-7pm beautiful compilation of signposted to the centro.
Tue-Sun, 7am-12.30pm & architectural styles and
3.30-7pm Mon), which is inspiring buildings. Chief
widely considered to be among these is its stun- 7 Padua
Italy’s finest Romanesque ning Roman amphithea- Travellers to Padua
church. Features to look tre, the Arena (%045 800 (Padova) usually make
out for include the Gothic 32 04; www.arena.it; Piazza a beeline for the city’s
rose window and a series Brà; adult/reduced €10/7.50; main attraction, the
of bas-reliefs depicting h8.30am-7.30pm Tue-Sun, Cappella degli Scrovegni
scenes from Genesis. from 1.30pm Mon). Dating (Scrovegni Chapel; %049 201
Nearby, the 13th- from the 1st century 00 20; www.cappelladegli
century Torre Ghirlan- AD, this is Italy’s third- scrovegni.it; Piazza Eremitani
dina (Corso Duomo; €3; largest amphitheatre 8; adult/reduced €13/6, night
h9.30am-1pm & 3-7pm after the Colosseum and ticket €8/6; h9am-7pm), but
Tue-Fri, 9.30am-7pm Sat & Capua amphitheatre, and there’s more to Padua
Sun summer, 9.30am-1pm & although it can no longer than Giotto frescoes and
2.30-5.30pm Tue-Fri, 9.30am- seat 30,000, it still draws it’s actually the Orto
5.30pm Sat & Sun winter), an sizeable crowds to its Botanico (%049 827 39 39;
87m-high tower topped opera and concerts. www.ortobotanicopd.it; Via
by a Gothic spire, was From the Arena, it’s dell’Orto Botanico 15; adult/
named after Seville’s Gi- an easy walk to the river reduced €10/8; h9am-7pm
ITALY 5 WORLD HERITAGE WONDERS
ralda bell tower by exiled Adige and Castelvec- daily Apr & May, 9am-7pm Tue-
Spanish Jews in the early chio (%045 806 26 11; Sun Jun-Sep, to 6pm Tue-Sun
16th century. The last of https://museodicastelvecchio. Oct, to 5pm Tue-Sun Nov-Mar;
the Unesco threesome is comune.verona.it; Corso c) that represents Padua
Piazza Grande, just south Castelvecchio 2; adult/reduced on Unesco’s list of World
of the cathedral. The €6/4.50; h1.30-7.30pm Heritage Sites. The oldest
city’s focal square, this is Mon, 8.30am-7.30pm Tue- botanical garden in the
flanked by the porticoed Sun; c), a picturesque world, this dates to 1545
Palazzo Comunale, Mod- castle housing one of the when a group of medical
ena’s elegant town hall. city’s top art museums. students planted some
Like many of the city’s rare plants in order to
54 p87 outstanding monuments, study their medicinal
The Drive » From Modena this was built during the properties. A short
reckon on about 1¼ hours to 14th-century reign of the walk from the garden,
Verona, via the A1 and A22 tyrannical della Scala Padua’s vast Basilica di
autostradas. Follow the A22 as it (Scaligeri) family, whose Sant’Antonio (Il Santo;
traverses the flat Po valley plain, eye-catching Gothic %049 822 56 52; www.
passing the medieval town of
Mantua (Mantova; worth a quick tombs, the Arche Scal- basilicadelsanto.org; Piazza
break) before connecting with igere (Via Arche Scaligere), del Santo; h6.20am-7.45pm
the A4. Turn off at Verona Sud stand near elegant Piazza Apr-Oct, to 6.45pm Nov-Mar)
and follow signs for the town dei Signori. is a major pilgrimage
centre. destination, attracting
The Drive » To Padua it’s about
an hour from Verona on the thousands of visitors a
TRIP HIGHLIGHT A4 Venice autostrada. Exit at year paying homage to St
6 Verona Padova Ovest (Padua West) Anthony, the city’s patron
saint, who is buried here.
and join the SP47 after the toll
A World Heritage Site booth. Follow this until you see,
since 2000, Verona’s

82