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Day 7: Padua April 21
So we stood on the train station at Montegrotto Therme. I said casually that trains in Italy always run on time. Error. Big Error
We were chatting to a Swiss lady who had 4 languages including Italian who kept us informed about the delays. Eventually it was 50 minutes. The trains surprise me. A modern high-speed train rushed past while we waited but our train was old, in style and in fact. Windows open; doors, although automatic to some degree, crash shut with hand smashing suddenness. However, it got us to Padua quickly.
Padua centre was another delight; old buildings on narrow streets and cobbles that hurt the feet. Traffic was limited and even banned from many parts. I think I now understand why they have arcades with their overhung roofs. The summer is very hot so you need protection from the heat although for us the day is only slightly warm.
Our cultural visits once again involved churches and museums. The churches are amazing and the Basillica di Sant'Antonio staggering. The whole area around the church is dominated by the memorials to the saint including the street sellers who offer everything for the pilgrims who seem to be present in large numbers. Inside it is massively decorated that it's hard to comprehend the amount of time, let alone cost involved when it was built. The crypt end was completely covered in frescoes from floor to roof by a range of Paduan artists. We joined one queue to visit the San Giovanni corner where there were some staggering friezes in white marble. What makes them so interesting is the range of emotions that they achieve from the faces of the people. They were certainly worth seeing.
Next we visited a chapel, The Oratorio Scoletta which was covered in massive frescoes again painted by the great of Paduan art.
Had a cheap lunch in a small backstreet café run by Wang Qin (a good Italian name?) before going to Musee Civici Erematani. No doubt what we saw was great art and very important to many people but after several rooms in which the subject matter of countless paintings was the same, eg 'Madonna and Child' that seemingly lacked variety it becomes rather wearing. Then, unexpectedly, came Fernando Bocchi a 17thC painter from Bresica; two bizarre paintings of midgets doing some very odd things. Perhaps a Veronese version of Hieronymous Bosch, or even Giotto in his vision of 'Hell' but it did offer some break from the overwhelming concentration on re-told biblical stories.
One other thing we saw, and rode on, was the tram system. Unlike others we have seen it only had one rail so obviously was cheaper to build. As it runs on road wheels as well, it may well have been quieter. So why do most towns have two rails?
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