A friend and I will be spending four days in Florence , June 20 - June 24, then taking a train to Umbria where we will be spending a week at a yoga/watercolor retreat, June 24- June 30.
Is it possible to visit Padua in one day if one travels from Perugia to Padua? As I understand the closest train station to Umbria is in Perugia.

Umbria is a province, not a town. Where is your retreat in Umbria?

<<the closest train station to Umbria is in Perugia. >>

Umbria is an entire region in Italy. There are loads of train stations in Umbria.

Where are you based in Umbria? It's about 375 km from Perugia to Padua, not what I would call a daytrip. Do you have a map of Italy?

Padua would be closer to Florence than to Perugia.

No way. By the time you got there it would be time to come home. But there are plenty of lovely places to visit closer to Perugia. If you have a day off from your yoga, go to Assisi for the day. Alternatively try Lake Trasimeno.

I'll take a wild guess it is Umbertide in Umbria.

Best times from Perugia (in the region of Umbria) is 4 hours to Padova, and I gather you are not staying in Perugia, so it will be more than 4 hours.

By contrast, if you leave from Florence (in the region of Tuscany), it takes 90 minutes to go to Padova.

If your interest in going to Padova is to see the Scrovegni Chapel, you must make a reservation in advance, but once you have done that, you don't need much more than 90 minutes in Padova to complete your mission.

Padova is a nice place if you want to linger longer, but many people just slip and out to see the famous chapel. If you were thinking of touring the rest of Padova or visiting friends, you would obviously want to stay there more then 90 minutes.

Depending on who you are and why you are in Italy, making an extraordinary effort to see the Scrovegni Chapel or visit Padova for other specific reasons would be "worth it." If you have just heard Padova is a nice place, it is, but there are a zillion nice places in Umbria and Tuscany that wouldn't involve taking long train rides.

By the way, having a map of Italy these days won't tell you much about the feasibility of day trips. Some places that are close on a map have poor train connections, while some apparently distant destinations are now a zip to get to and from.

It's also true that Italian trains are now much more comfortable, and I know a lot of people who very frequently make 4 hour train trips and return to the same day. I'm not recommending it for vacationers, but if travelers really want to see a specific site or art work, taking an early train from Perugia that lands you in Padova at noon, and returning at 3pm to be home by 9pm isn't an exhausting day. Bring earplugs and you can get a lot of reading or other work done.

Thanks to all for your input.I see on the map that my "pilgrimage" to Padua, the city of St. Anthony, will have to be postponed until I return to Venice or Milan or consider renting a car and spending time touring Italy.

Ciao,
Camille

There are hourly trains from Florence to Padua, about 90 minutes in each direction, should you decide to do your pilgrimage from Florence. (The trip from Milan to Padua would be two hours or more each way.)