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Padova's ageless charm

Aditi De

I've always wondered how it would feel to study in an ancient university. One that hasn't changed for centuries. Last fall, I got a feel of the experience when I was in the 12th-century northern Italian town of Padova.

Padova houses one of the most ancient universities in Europe. Even as a medieval town, it played host to students of justice, theology, philosophy and medicine. So, it is hardly surprising that a major university was established here on September 29, 122 2.

On my first visit to the imposing ancient buildings at the university, I watched a doctoral student defend her dissertation. She stood proud and confident in her black robes, facing a battery of questions from her professors. Only later did I learn that the room with ancient wooden benches, carved chairs and plaques on the walls was originally where Galileo Galilei taught. For Padova University was the fountain of sciences in Europe for a long time, spearheaded by this brilliant mathematician, physicist and astronomer.

It gave me gooseflesh to realise that so much of history still survives in Padova. This is evident in Il Bo, the city's finest Renaissance building that is central to Padova University, with a courtyard that often witnesses live concerts. In one wing lie s an ancient anatomy theatre, one of the earliest in Europe.

Looking down from its steep, wooden tiers to the dissection table below, my guide says, ``In the medieval times, it was considered sacrilege to tamper with the human body.

A river flowed below the table. A corpse was brought to the theatre over the river waters, and hoisted on to the platform. As the professor showed the students the wonders of the human body, the youth walked around the theatre with lighted candles for ho urs. To keep their blood circulation going and to keep from fainting in this windowless chamber. If an intruder threatened to enter the forbidden chamber, the trapdoor was speedily lifted and the body consigned to the waters below!''

Guess who featured among Padova University's distinguished alumni? Givonbattista Morgagni, the originator of pathological anatomy, Erasmus of Rotterdam and William Harvey, who discovered blood circulation. Besides, in 1678, Elena Lucrezia Cornaro Pisco pia became the first woman-graduate in the world by getting her doctorate in philosophy at Padova.

At first, professors were elected annually by the student body. From 1445 onwards, they started being appointed and were provided remuneration by the public authorities. Initially, there were just three doctoral colleges in Padova -- Jurists, Medicine an d Arts, and Theologists. The university has come a long way since.

After wandering through this novel university experience, I stroll into the three beautiful inter-connected squares that adjoin the academic centre. On weekdays, the Piazza delle Herbe teems with life and bustles with business.

Fresh vegetables and fruit arrive here every morning and are bought by the citizens on their way to work or back home for lunch and a siesta. Fresh peaches and aperitifs at the corner cafe, fashionable lingerie and fantastic footwear vie for attention in the collonaded buildings -- including the municipal Palazzo della Razione -- around the square. It's a feast for the senses, but hard on the pocket.

Padova, like all Italian towns, boasts of stunning churches. At the heart of the religious experience is the multi-domed 13th-century Basilica of St. Anthony. The sarcophagus of the saint now lies in the north transept of the church, a point of pilgrimag e for many Catholics. Its facade offers a blend of bold, sparing Gothic architecture and the soft curves of the Venetian-Byzantine look.

Within the basilica, the great Gothic rose window is distinctive. Its light stonework stands out against the brick facade. The tiny cylindrical pointed belfry on the peak of its roof is another original touch. Great sculpted panels along the walls depict crucial scenes from the life of St. Anthony, canonised on May 20, 1232.

Padova's other major religious monument is the basilica of St. Justina, dating back to the 16th century. Down the central aisles, it contains seven side chapels, facing each other. Among major art works within its precincts are the Chapel of the Pieta (a masterpiece by Parodi, 1689), and the Venetian baroque altar, surmounted by a painting in fresco in the cove of the apse.

A short walk away is a magnificent open air public place, dating back to the 1257 -- Prato della Valle. With immense plane trees at its very centre, surrounded by 87 statues of eminent personages in white stone, its beauty is stunning. Normally perfect f or an evening walk or an assignation under the caves of the dark-stoned arcades around, every Saturday a weekly market springs to life here. That's where I found I could buy pairs of stunning Italian shoes at prices that were a delight even by Indian sta ndards.

A few minutes away from Prato delta Valle, I found myself in a charming oasis of quiet -- the world's oldest botanical garden, founded in 1545. Among its beautiful plant life, I even found a lush coconut palm and a tantalising array of tropical foliage. It was designed by Andrea Moroni, who planned the ancient heart of the Il Bo palace.

Before I left Padova, there was a final destination I had to see -- the warm brickworked little chapel of the Scrovegni family. As gentle shafts of light from the slender windows lighted the interior, my eyes feasted on an incredible sight. The most auth entic, best-preserved frescoes by the artist Giotto, dating back to 1302. Their theme: the redemption of man.

As a tourist, I felt redeemed by the low-rise, tile-roofed quaint city of Padova. May it never lose its ageless charm!

Fact file

How to get there:

By air: Venice is the closest airport where frequent international flights bring in tourists from around the world.

By rail: Padova is well-connected to the rest of Italy by regular train services.

What to see: St. Anthony's basilica, St. Justina's church, Padova University, Palazzo della Razione, Prato della Valle, the botanical garden, Scrovegni chapel.

Pic.: A magnificent room inside Padova University