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Prato della Valle

Prato della Valle

Highlight • Monument

Prato della Valle

Name: Prato della Valle
Rating: 2

Recommended by 37 hikers

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Location: Padova, Veneto, Italy

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Paul

November 19, 2025

Prato della Valle, Padua
The Prato della Valle, one of Padua's landmarks, is a large, monumental space distinguished by a central green island, Isola Memmia, named in honor of the city's governor who commissioned its creation. This island is surrounded by a canal adorned with a double pedestal featuring numbered statues of famous figures from the past. Since antiquity, this public space has served both economic and recreational functions.

In Roman times, a large theater, the Zairo, stood here; remains of the theater's foundations have been found in the canal surrounding Isola Memmia, along with a circular racecourse for chariots. During the Middle Ages, fairs, tournaments, festivals, and competitions were held here; it was the site of large gatherings of "all the free men of Padua," and as early as 1077, it was a marketplace. Until 1767, it belonged to the Abbey of Santa Giustina. Then, the Senate of Veneto declared it municipal land and, together with Andrea Memmo, Provveditore della Serenissima (Governor of the Venetian Republic), implemented a radical redevelopment project. The aim was to create a new urban commercial center, a space suitable for fairs and events.

Later, pavilions were erected on Isola Memmia to establish a market. Subsequently, trees were planted, giving the square a distinctly English feel, while the surrounding buildings made it unique, original, and memorable. The design is inspired by the great Venetian tradition of the patrician garden, which here, for the first time, is taken out of private use and proposed according to neoclassical concepts as an urban planning solution and ecological enhancement.

Text / Source: Turismo Padova

turismopadova.it/de/orte/prato-della-valle

Translated by Google •

🇧🇪 Herwig Aertbeliën

June 24, 2024

Prato della Valle, one of the symbols of Padua, is a large elliptical square that is not only the largest square in Padua, but also one of the largest in Europe (88620 m2), after Red Square in Moscow.

The square is actually a large monumental space characterized by a central green island, called Isola Memmia, in honor of the podestà that commissioned the works, surrounded by a moat decorated with a double base of numbered statues of famous figures from the past that according to the original plan there would be 88.
However, today we can only observe 78 statues with 8 pedestals surmounted by obelisks and 2 empty ones.

Four avenues cross the Prato via small bridges and then converge in the center of the islet.
The arrangement is inspired by the great Venetian tradition of the patrician garden; here, for the first time, this was withdrawn from private use and, according to neoclassical concepts, proposed as an urban planning solution and environmental qualification.

Source: padovanet.it/informazione/prato-della-valle

Translated by Google •

🇧🇪 Herwig Aertbeliën

June 24, 2024

Since ancient times, this open space has had an economic and recreational function.

In Roman times it was the site of a huge theater, the Zairo, the foundations of which were found in the canal around the island of Memmia, and of a horse racing circus.

In the era of the persecution of the first Christians, the circus was used for fighting. Two of the city's four patron saints, Santa Giustina and San Daniele, were martyred here.

In the Middle Ages it was instead the site of fairs, jousts, public festivals and competitions, such as the "sedoli" races, a kind of typical Paduan chariot or the "castello d'amore", which ended with the capture of beautiful maidens to marry some of the young men who came from all over the Veneto.

Source: padovanet.it/informazione/prato-della-valle

Translated by Google •

Details

Informations

Elevation 50 m

Weather

Sunday 7 December

14°C

2°C

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Location: Padova, Veneto, Italy

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

2. Piazza della Frutta, Padua – Piazza dei Signori, Padova loop from Santa Rita

3. Piazza della Frutta, Padua – Palazzo della Ragione, Padua loop from Santa Rita

Other Popular Places to Check Out

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