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Arena Gardens (Giardini dell’Arena) is a public park in Padua, Italy. Other than being a green space, it contains some of the city’s most important landmarks. The gardens are included in the UNESCO World Heritage listing for Padua’s 14th century fresco cycles.
Roman Arena
First of all, the park takes its name from a ruined Roman arena located on the grounds. It dates back to the time of Augustus (30 BC to 14 AD) and was excavated in 1880 and again in 1906. Only parts of the middle wall are visible today.
Garibaldi Statue
To the north of the arena is a statue of Italian general Giuseppe Garibaldi (1807-1882). It was dedicated in 1886.
Scrovegni Chapel
The most important landmark is the Scrovegni Chapel (Cappella degli Scrovegni). Inside this unassuming brick building is a masterpiece of Renaissance painting. Several incredible frescoes completed in 1305 by Giotto (1267-1337) line the walls. It’s included in the UNESCO World Heritage listing for Padua’s 14th century fresco cycles.
Unfortunately I made a huge mistake and didn’t get to see it. I didn’t pay attention when I was planning my trip and didn’t realize you have to purchase tickets at least 24 hours in advance. No tickets can be purchased on the day of your visit. If you want to see this masterpiece, you can buy tickets on the official website and choose a time for your visit, then show up 45 minutes early on the day of your visit to pick them up.
The Scrovegni Chapel is open daily. Tuesday through Sunday, it costs €14 (as of June 2023) and includes admission to the Eremitani City Museum (Museo Civici Eremitani) and the art museum at Palazzo Zuckermann across the street. Admission to only Palazzo Zuckermann and the Eremitani City Museum is €10 (as of June 2023). The Padova Urbs Picta Card allows for free admission to all three attractions, but with a €1 booking fee for the church.
The Eremitani City Museum is housed in the cloister of the Eremitani Church (see below). Palazzo Zuckermann was built between 1912 and 1914.
Eremitani Church
The Eremitani Church (Chiesa degli Eremitani) was built in 1276. It was heavily damaged from an Allied air raid on March 11, 1944, because it was located next to a Nazi headquarters.
The interior of the church once had several decorations but is much more plain since it was rebuilt after the bombing. Still, it’s included in the UNESCO World Heritage listing for Padua’s 14th century fresco cycles.
It features a few side chapels and tombs, including those of Jacopo II da Carrara (d. 1350) and Ubertina da Carrara (d. 1345) of the noble Carraresi family, and Italian humanist Marco Mantova Benavides (1489-1582).
The Ovetari Chapel (Cappella Ovetari), which is to the right of the apse, contains fragments of frescoes painted by Andrea Mantegna (1431-1506) between 1448 and 1457. Over 88,000 fragments were recovered after the bombing and later put back together using computers. The project was revealed to the public on September 16, 2006, with black and white drawings filling in the missing fragments.
Finally, the apse contains frescoes by Guariento (1310-1370) painted between 1361 and 1365. The entire apse was once decorated but only the left side survived the bombing.
