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Italy
Veneto
Padova

Palazzo della Ragione and the Piazza delle Erbe market, Padua

Discover
Places to see
Italy
Veneto
Padova

Palazzo della Ragione and the Piazza delle Erbe market, Padua

Highlight • Historical Site

Palazzo della Ragione and the Piazza delle Erbe market, Padua

Recommended by 144 hikers out of 145

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    Best Hikes to Palazzo della Ragione and the Piazza delle Erbe market, Padua

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    1. Piazza dei Signori, Padova – Palazzo della Ragione, Padua loop from Padova

    7.89km

    02:02

    40m

    40m

    Moderate hike. Good fitness required. Easily-accessible paths. Suitable for all skill levels.

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    Moderate

    Moderate hike. Good fitness required. Easily-accessible paths. Suitable for all skill levels.

    Moderate

    Easy hike. Great for any fitness level. Easily-accessible paths. Suitable for all skill levels.

    Easy

    Tips

    November 19, 2025

    Palazzo della Ragione, Padua

    The Salòn, or Palazzo della Ragione, the former seat of Padua's municipal courts, is one of the largest column-free halls in Europe. Considered one of the most famous civic monuments in Europe from the time of the Communes, the building was begun in 1218.

    Between 1306 and 1308, Fra Giovanni degli Eremitani transformed the three large rooms into a single hall and designed a roof in the shape of an inverted ship's hull.

    Giotto and his workshop were commissioned to paint the walls with frescoes; however, the cycle was destroyed by fire in 1420.

    The frescoes were restored by the Paduan Nicolo’ Miretto in collaboration with Stefano da Ferrara and other painters, based on the studies of Pietro d’Abano, a wealthy scholar of his time.

    The fresco cycle is one of the very few medieval astrological cycles to have survived to this day. The connection between the paintings and the function of the place explains the presence of animal figures representing the insignia of the courts, whose function is also linked to the allegories of Justice, Law, the Community in Rule, and the frescoes depicting the Judgment of Solomon and the court scene.

    In the great hall is the "Pietra del Vituperio," or Stone of Shame, upon which insolvent debtors, clad only in a shirt, had to sit three times (the custom is the origin of the expression "to stay in one's shirt"), while repeating the Latin phrase "cedo bonis" (roughly translated as "I will pay the bill"). Also located there is the large wooden horse, crafted by Annibale Capodilista for a tournament and donated to the city by the family.

    Today, the great hall serves as a venue for exhibitions and cultural events.

    Not to mention that "Sotto il salone" is the oldest cooperative in the world, dating back 700 years.

    Text / Source: Turismo Padova
    turismopadova.it/en/the-palazzo-della-ragione

    Translated by Google •

      Products have been traded here for centuries in this nice, cozy covered marketplace. Come here and experience the atmosphere of the old shops below the hall. They create one of the most evocative and characteristic corners of Padua. Each store is full of high-quality food products: cheeses, meats, sausages and fish from all over Italy.
      There are also typical local products and gastronomic novelties, real "delicacies" of pleasure that every trader wants to showcase with a view to a general recovery of good and authentic food and a rediscovery of forgotten traditions and flavors.

      Translated by Google •

        Wonderful square with the Palazzo della Ragione as a backdrop

        Translated by Google •

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          Elevation 30 m

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          Monday 8 December

          12°C

          2°C

          0 %

          If you start your activity now...

          Max wind speed: 7.0 km/h

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          Location: Padova, Veneto, Italy

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