Historic Padua

I can best describe our visit to Padua in three words: eat, pray and love!  The skies were grey for the first time since our arrival in Italy, but the "sunshine" we felt from our new friends who greeted us in Padua more than made up for the clouds.
I will begin with "pray" as the eat and love part are closely related. We had met Sergio and Guilianna at our friend, John's home in KC.  When they heard we were coming to Italy, they invited us to stay with them in Padua.  They don't speak any English, so Sergio arranged for a young woman, Guilia, who works for him in his travel agency, to be our translator and guide for our tour of Padua. Guilia lived in America for 3 years and speaks fluent English.  After a traditional Italian lunch, Sergio, Guilia, Gary and I set out to explore Padua (and wear off some of the pasta).
In the 1200's, Padua was similar to it's neighbor, Venice, with a system of canals throughout the old city.  The canals no longer exist but their existance is very evident.  Our first stop was a visit to the Basilica of Saint Anthony of Padua.  Pope John Paul II recognized this beautiful basilica as an international shrine in 1993, as one of the most important destinations for pilgrimages in the world.  St. Anthony is considered the patron for lost and impossible needs.  As we walked through this beautiful church we came to the shrine where his remains are buried.  It was so moving to see the hundreds of photos left by pilgrims from all over the world, who are in need of a "miracle" and are hopeful that St. Anthony will intercede for them, to the Almighty.  Mass was being said in the center of the church in 4 different languages and was a celebration with slavic music and customs.  It was a very moving experience.

Basilica of St. Anthony  (Main altar below)

We continued to walk through the streets of Padua where Guilia pointed out all highlights of the
old and new blending together.  She showed us the ghetto which now houses many trendy boutiques and some of the architecture of the Mussolini era.
Our tour ended with 6:00 reservation at the Museum of Medieval and Modern Art to view the Scrovegni Chapel and the frescoes painted by Giotto in 1303-05.  This has recently reopened to the public after some extensive restoration and was similar to our experience at "The Last Supper" in Milan.  After a 15 minute video, (with English translation), 25 people at a time are allowed into the chapel to view the three layers of frescoes which depict the lives of Christ, the Blessed Virgin, and the Scrovegni family, who commissioned the project.  It is amazing to see the degree of depth Giotto suggested in each scene long before the principles of perspective were discovered.  Magnificant and truly a "prayerful"moment.
Of course, cameras were not allowed and our personal belongings were checked, so to give an idea of what we experienced, I took a photo from a book that we purchased to learn for about this chapel.

The Arena Chapel at Padua

I can combine the "eat" and "love" parts together because they are intertwined.  We were treated to two wonderful, home-cooked Italian meals while visiting our friends in Padua.  The love these wonderful people put into their meals and the pleasure they get out of sharing this experience with their guests is amazing.  Their friends, Victorio and Rosa joined us for dinner.  We have also met them in KC.

Rosa brought her homemade tortelini as well as a special torte for the "feast".  We met some of their children who stopped by for a visit before dinner.   Our meal included Rosa's tortelini in chicken broth, baked salami and cold cuts with crusty bread, a main course of roast rabbit and salad, fruit and cheese, Rosa's special torte, expresso and of course Limoncella!   Bon appetit!

Judie, Guilia, Sergio, Guiliana, Rosa and Victorio 

Rosa's tortelini , with Guiliana's broth

Guilia and Judie,  New friends!