PADUA

 JUNE 24, 2017

Adele and I drove about an hour and a half to Padua, arriving just before 1 PM. We checked into the hotel only to be told our room was not ready for occupancy. No problem. We had not eaten since breakfast, were hungry, and thought to take a light lunch and continue on our way for the balance of the afternoon. The hotel, grateful for our cooperation, assured us that the room would be made ready and luggage brought straightaway. Our hotel was situated by a canal, so we were anxious to get started, walk along the waterways, and find a place to have lunch.

Outside our hotel. 

 [An aside: Sometime in March, we purchased tickets to the Scrovegni Chapel. The tickets came with an assigned entry time of 18.20 (6:20 PM). Remember that for later. Our dear friends, Ron and Rosa, placed The Scrovegni Chapel on the map with a STAR - MUST SEE! To their deep regret, they showed up in Padua during their dream vacation two years ago, arrived at the Chapel to purchase tickets, only to discover that advanced purchase of tickets was absolutely necessary. And, since they were only passing through, they did not get the opportunity to see these most magnificent frescoes. They were crest-fallen. Maybe their single greatest disappointment in their truly extraordinary art tour.]

No one can be prepared for heat like we experienced. It ranged from 97-104 degrees. Weather Channel advised that it felt like 114. Still, we took off looking for a place to eat on our way to Padua 'centro'. Just follow the signs for the 'Duomo' and you will reach every Italian city's center. We literally walked as if on a death march. We couldn't even hold hands. Not even pinkys. It was so close and clammy any contact whatsoever magnified the discomfort. "Yucky" is a word meant for days like this.

Restaurants often do not open until dinner or about 7 - 7:30 PM. As it happened, we were delighted to find a charming trattoria that was open, able to first rest our weary feet, second, order a large bottle of 'acqua con gas', eat a lovely lunch while cooling in air-conditioned luxury, and, in a sweet, enclosed garden restaurant. Lunch had to come to an end, and so in the absolute scalding heat, we continued our visit stopping at a Basillica here and a Duomo there...until we were ready to drop.

It must now be about 3:30. As we were deciding if we wanted to return to the hotel or not, we passed the University of Padua. Adele recalled that while in St. Petersburg it was recommended to us that we visit and take the tour of the University. We purchased the tickets and  immediately joined a half dozen other eager travelers for the last tour of the day. At the outset, we were ushered into a large lecture hall with stadium seating and asked to take a seat. Surrounded by portraits of historical notables, the tour guide explained that this was the gallery where Galileo Galilei lectured. Founded in 1222, the University of Padua was the premier university in Europe. Extending an invitation to Galileo, who was considered the greatest mind of his generation,  the administration lured him with an offer to triple his salary. "He immediately accepted", the tour guide said with a smile.

The guide then pointed out the seat where Copernicus sat as a student. She referred to William Henry's portrait, who discovered and described the circulatory system. She directed us to Signori Fallopio, whose diagrams of the Fallopian tubes are still accurate today. We then were taken to the first "surgical theater", a small surgical space, from which balconies extended vertically in widening concentric circles, where students could stand and view operating procedures. This whole experience for me was a highlight of our travels. She explained how the balconies came to have these high railings constructed after the initial building of the theater, because students would observe, become nauseous and queazy, faint and fall over from the heights down onto the balconies below. The space between the railing and the back wall was only about 35 centimeters so you did not have room to back up or collapse...or sit.

If you view, turning the photo so that the blue operating floor is to the bottom, you will get the perspective of this rising, spiraling theater and what it must have felt like as a student looking down upon the procedure. You can see how narrow the space between the front and back railings, so no one sat during the whole of the operating procedure. I asked, "Was there a hierarchy so that those with higher grades earned the preferred lower tiers?" The excellent guide said, "There was a hierarchy...but not according to grades. Many of the students were sons and daughters of 'patrons' who donated money to the university. They reaped certain advantages."

An interesting story: Students who observed the procedures were often, like most young people, chatty and would call to one another and often attempt to engage the professor/doctors in dialogue. In order to quell the noise and relax the students, the surgeons allowed for music to be played during procedures. String quartets or guitar players would sit in the periphery of the operating area and play classical music. They found that the music not only helped those assisting in the operation but effectively calmed the audience so they would stay focused and not talk over the music. Music is often employed today in surgical environments. This is where it all started.

The tour concluded at about 4:20 PM. Exhaustion was setting in and we were feeling as limp as our 'wicking' shirts looked. Do we go home or take a brief "coffee break"? Do we bother leaving the central district or stay for another hour before going to the Chapel? We decided to stop at Pedrocchi Caffe. Founded in the 18th century it possesses a prominent architectural history.  The cafe is divided into sections, each 'room' decorated in a diverse style, arranged as an eclectic ensemble by the architect Giuseppe Jappelli. We ordered two Caffe Pedrocchi, their signature coffee drink. No surprise that this unique, nearly 200 year old concoction takes its name from the owner. It is an espresso with mint liqueur foam on top. Really quite delicious.

Another of the beautiful scenes along the canals... 

Now, after finishing our coffee and downing a half liter of water, it was 17.15 or 5:15 PM and we had tickets to The Scrovegni Chapel at 18.20. Apparently, it was plenty of time for us return to the hotel (a twenty minute walk), wash up, change and get going. And, although we toyed with the idea of staying 'downtown', an easy 15 minutes walk to the chapel, we decided to walk the 15 minutes back to the hotel to change and turn around and head back to the Chapel. However, it was not until we returned to the hotel [now 5:45] and asked the lady at the front desk how long it would take to get to the Scrovegni Chapel, that we were advised we missed the small print on the e-ticket that requested we show up 40 minutes prior to entry. It was NOW 40 minutes prior to our entry and we were standing in the lobby of our hotel sopping wet, tired, wanting to splash cold water on our faces and change shirts (at the very least). We knew the general area of the chapel but were a little sickened to learn that we had to pass exactly by Pedrocchi Caffe on the way to Scrovegni. From our hotel, passing the cafe we just sat at, the walk was approximately a half hour, which meant that we would get to the chapel with 10 or so minutes to spare. We were sickened by the memory of our friends missing seeing Scrovegni and sickened also that we, too, were about to be rejected for arriving too late. Still, we jotted up to the hotel room, took care of what needed taking care of, and started our fast walk back to the chapel. If we were able to keep up a pace, at best we might have made it to the chapel with 8-10 minutes to spare. But, it was hot...35 degrees Celsius or 95 degrees F. at 6:00 PM. We did our best to arrive as early as possible to have time to finagle an explanation as to why they should let us in. However, approaching the street we were misdirected by a woman who told us that the entrance lay on one side of the fenced area when actually it was on the other side.

By the time we reached the Chapel entrance it was literally two minutes before the actual entry time. We arrived at 6:18 and with every expectation that we would be turned away.  Also, note that the reason you are asked to arrive 40 minutes prior is because you are brought into a humidity controlled room where you watch a 15-minute movie so as to reduce your level of moisture and lower body temperature to acceptable levels to not damage the artwork. I slapped the tickets on the counter, doing my imitation of Charlie Chaplin In "The Tramp", pleaing with my eyes and panting and heaving for sympathy, expecting to garner empathy and compassion. When, to our utter surprise and amazement, and without any demonstration of concern or admonition, the attendant called another worker and asked her to lead us to the waiting area. No fuss. No bother. By the time we got to the Chapel, Adele and I were already practicing what we were going to say to Ron and Rosa to explain our stupidity and ineptitude. But, no, we were ushered to the waiting area where we sat for about four minutes before being seated in the tremperature and humidity controlled room with, amazingly, four other English speaking people. Rather than 40 people, we would be a party of 6 present in the Chapel.

How lovely and clean and tonal... 

Now, I am sure that you know that if you think you are sweaty, wait until you have a moment to sit and relax and breath. Its at that moment that the perspiration starts pouring. And, the body gives way by exuding every toxin retained. Well, I was like a gusher without a spigot. I thought the alarms and bells and whistles and alert mechanisms were all going to be activated and fire and ping and ding and point a finger at me as unfit to enter the Scrovegni Chapel. The movie was about 15 minutes and miraculously, by the end of the feature I was temperaturized and humidified suitably and sufficiently to finally be allowed to enter.

The Scrovegni Chapel is effectively a "lock down" facility. Once you enter the film room, you then enter the chapel through a temperature controlled hallway and into the monitored environment of the Chapel. Each session is 20 minutes. Upon entering, and because of the instructional nature of the film, one's eyes are filled with man-made wonder for which you cannot prepare yourself. Not merely paintings, but statuary and carvings of an order of craftsmanship and genius that is spellbinding. I literally trembled at the perfection of the space - ordered, stunning, and original. Yes, original. The Chapel was not in any way scathed or damaged by time, war, or devastation. No bomb or vile acts damaged or marked this precious jewel. Twenty minutes was just not enough time.

And, so it was...An alarm went off at twenty minutes, but the electronic door would not open. There are always two people attending with the groups. One picked up the phone and reported our status. But, rather than concern myself with whether we would be sleeping amongst some of the worlds greatest art treasures, I continued gawking and revering and even tearing at the splendor. In another 5 minutes our near private audience at Scrovegni Chapel ended. Adele and I, so rapidly rushed in, did not have time to process the good fortune that had been bestowed. As we departed the chapel, all we could do was laugh. And so we did. 

A Purposeful Passionate Penitent Papally Punctilious Paduan Priest Pedaling Past Pillars

The next day, Adele and I went to see an art exhibit. The artist is Mario Viezzoli, an industrial engineer and designer with five decades of award winning commercial experience. He turned artist twenty years ago utilizing his skills as a designer and incorporating mathematics, musical influences, 'programmed art' (whatever that is) and visual poetry to create images of symmetrical movement utilizing repetitive themes in patterns. There is no way that you understood that. If by some chance you did, PLEASE CONTACT ME AND TELL ME WHAT I SAID. You will simply need to reach out when we return and ask to come over and see the piece that we bought.

NEXT POST: VERONA