Padua/Vincenza/Verona sidetrips
Jul 21st, 2005, 07:13 AM
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Padua/Vincenza/Verona sidetrips
We will be staying in Venice for a week in October and would possibly like to visit Padua, Vincenza and Verona as side trips. How long should be scheduled for each place? Is a whole day necessary for each? We will be travelling by train. If we have to cut one of the three, which would you suggest? Thanks!
Jul 21st, 2005, 07:45 AM
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Hi sw,
Train schedules are at www.trenitalia.com.
I believe that all three are very nice daytrips.
There is also a boat ride out of Venice, but I can't recall what it is.
If you have to cut one, I suggest deleting the one that takes longest to get to.
Train schedules are at www.trenitalia.com.
I believe that all three are very nice daytrips.
There is also a boat ride out of Venice, but I can't recall what it is.
If you have to cut one, I suggest deleting the one that takes longest to get to.
Jul 21st, 2005, 07:47 AM
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Thanks Ira. I was reviewing the Rick Steve's guidebook and he suggests 4 hours for Padua but this just didn't seem to do it justice. Does anyone agree/disagree? I'd hate to only plan for a half day and then feel like we were missing something.
Jul 21st, 2005, 08:15 AM
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I'm not normally a great fan of Rick Steves but I would agree with him that 4 hours is enough for Padua.
The main things to see, in my opinion, are Giotto's Cappella degli Scrovegni (it has a Web site where you can reserve: you get 15 minutes being shown a film while temperature and humidity from outside are adjusted and 15 minutes in the chapel itself); the Basilica of St. Anthony of Padua and Donatello's equestrian statue of Gattamelata in front of it; the main piazza (whose name I`ve unfortunately forgotten) and the Caffe Pedrocchi, an institution as far as old cafes are concerned. It's all within walking distance of the station.
The next closest town, on the same train line, is Vicenza. If you stick to seeing only Palladio's downtown palazzi, the Palazzo della Ragione and the Teatro Olimpico as well as the Villa Rotonda (there's a bus that leaves from the train station and takes you to within a few yards of it), you should be able to do it on the same day as Padua. The train station is a bit of a way from the downtown area, but once you are downtown, everything is quite close together, except for the Villa Rotonda, of course. If you can grab a few minutes from the Villa Rotonda to go to the Villa Valmarana ai Nani a few hundred feet away, you can see some quite lovely frescoes by Giandomenico Tiepolo in the "foresteria" (guest house) of the villa.
Padua is about 30 minutes from Venice and Vicenza another 20 minutes more.
The main things to see, in my opinion, are Giotto's Cappella degli Scrovegni (it has a Web site where you can reserve: you get 15 minutes being shown a film while temperature and humidity from outside are adjusted and 15 minutes in the chapel itself); the Basilica of St. Anthony of Padua and Donatello's equestrian statue of Gattamelata in front of it; the main piazza (whose name I`ve unfortunately forgotten) and the Caffe Pedrocchi, an institution as far as old cafes are concerned. It's all within walking distance of the station.
The next closest town, on the same train line, is Vicenza. If you stick to seeing only Palladio's downtown palazzi, the Palazzo della Ragione and the Teatro Olimpico as well as the Villa Rotonda (there's a bus that leaves from the train station and takes you to within a few yards of it), you should be able to do it on the same day as Padua. The train station is a bit of a way from the downtown area, but once you are downtown, everything is quite close together, except for the Villa Rotonda, of course. If you can grab a few minutes from the Villa Rotonda to go to the Villa Valmarana ai Nani a few hundred feet away, you can see some quite lovely frescoes by Giandomenico Tiepolo in the "foresteria" (guest house) of the villa.
Padua is about 30 minutes from Venice and Vicenza another 20 minutes more.
Jul 21st, 2005, 08:27 AM
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Thanks Eloise, That's exactly the info I needed! I tend to think that RS tends to give the short shrift to some things so I wasn't sure about this one. I know that both places probably deserve more time but we just don't have it and would like to get the flavor of each.
Jul 21st, 2005, 08:46 AM
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If you want to do Palladio "in depth", have a look at the following Web site:
http://www.cisapalladio.org/veneto/i...4&lingua=e
Incidentally, the Teatro Olimpico and the Palazzo Chiericati (if you pay the museum admission fee) are the only Palladio buildings in downtown Vicenza that you can enter. And the Palazzo della Ragione, to some extent. Definitely go into the Teatro; as far as I'm concerned, you can skip the interior of the Palazzo Chiericati. And don't worry if the Villa Rotonda's interior is not open on the day you go; while interesting, it is not as important as the exterior and the setting.
http://www.cisapalladio.org/veneto/i...4&lingua=e
Incidentally, the Teatro Olimpico and the Palazzo Chiericati (if you pay the museum admission fee) are the only Palladio buildings in downtown Vicenza that you can enter. And the Palazzo della Ragione, to some extent. Definitely go into the Teatro; as far as I'm concerned, you can skip the interior of the Palazzo Chiericati. And don't worry if the Villa Rotonda's interior is not open on the day you go; while interesting, it is not as important as the exterior and the setting.
