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Piazza Duomo is a square in the historic city center of Padua, Italy. It’s located a short walk from Piazza dei Signori and contains the city’s cathedral. The plaza and surrounding buildings are included in the UNESCO World Heritage listing for Padua’s 14th century fresco cycles.
Baptistry
The Duomo of Padua (Duomo di Padova) and the Baptistry of Saint John (Battistero di San Giovanni) sit next to each other at the west end of Piazza Duomo. The first baptistry was built in the 12th century while the current building was built in the 1310s and 1320s. It contains incredible frescoes by Giusto de’ Menabuoi (c. 1320-1391) painted in 1375 and 1376. You can visit the baptistry and museum for €12 (as of June 2024), or free with the Padova Urbs Picta Card. Photography is forbidden inside.
Duomo
The Duomo, also known as the Basilica Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta (Basilica Cattedrale di Santa Maria Assunta), is the third church built on the site. The first was built after the 313 Edict of Milan but was destroyed in an earthquake on January 3, 1117. The second church was built shortly after, and the current church was built between 1551 and 1754. The façade remains unfinished. The interior is divided into three naves with several different side chapels.
Among the side chapels is the Chapel of the Blessed Sacrament with an altar built by Giorgio Massari. Jacopo Gabano and Tomasso Bonazza created the left and right statues of praying angels respectively. Bishop Pietro Barozzi (1441-1507) is entombed on the right wall.
The Chapel of the Madonna dei Miracoli was designed by Mattia Carneri in 1647 to hold an ancient Byzantine icon. The tomb of Cardinal Pietro Pileo da Prata (c. 1330-1400) is on the left wall.
The Duomo contains an old and new presbytery. The old presbytery was completed in 1698 with an altar consecrated in 1770. The new presbytery was built in 1996 by Italian sculptor Giuliano Vangi. He created some impressive statues of the patron saints of Padua for the project.
Palazzo of the Mount of Piety
Finally, on the north side of the Piazza Duomo is the Palazzo of the Mount of Piety (Palazzo del Monte di Pietà Nuovo). It was built between the 13th and 14th centuries as the palace of Rinaldo Scrovegni, a loan shark. After a fire destroyed most of the palazzo in the early 16th century, it was sold to the Mount of Piety (Monte de Pietà), a charity pawnbroker.
The palace was rebuilt with a portico in the early 16th century. Giovanni Battista Bissoni and Gaspare Giona painted some impressive frescoes on the façade in 1607. Today, the building houses the headquarters of the Savings Bank Foundation (Fundazione Cassa di Risparmio).
