In Padua it is possible to breathe an atmosphere made of history and unique architectural and artistic beauties in the world. This is the case of the famous Reggia dei Carraresi , an unmissable Paduan wonder if you decide to visit the city.
Made up in 1338 by Ubertino da Carrara, the Royal Palace is the emblem of the power of the Carraresi on the city of Padua who also hosted Petrarch and many other famous artists in the sumptuous villa, which reached the maximum splendor under the dominion of Francesco Il Vecchio, illuminated patron. Today it is possible to visit the Royal Palace and admire the fourteenth -century loggia and the sensational cycle of frescoes by Guariento.
Visiting this splendid complex allows you to make a real jump back in time even if a lot of its ancient splendor has been lost over the centuries. The villa remains a luxury home, political, cultural and artistic center of the city of Padua and its lordship. The palace was much more than an elegant home and crossing its threshold still today it is possible to perceive the political and cultural power that these walls have represented for the city.
If you are organizing a trip to Padua , you cannot miss the opportunity to visit this historical wonder. Whether it's for a weekend or for a few days of vacation, opt for a smart solution with a short rent and access many apartments and solutions suitable for making your stay in Padua even more iconic.
The building: a complete description of the Carraresi Reggia
Like many other historic buildings, the Carraresi Reggia also has undergone many changes and the complex, which once included buildings, towers and gardens in the historic center of Padua, right next to the Cathedral, is now reduced to a couple of buildings , the Liviano palace with the Giganti room and the famous Carrarese Loggia , the current headquarters of the Galileian Academy in via dell'Accademia and a sensational decorative apparatus.
The palace was in fact designed to host poets, writers and thinkers, but also artists from every corner of the world. A dynamic and vital cultural environment, where Francesco Petrarca was also able to take refuge under the protection of the Carraresi. The artists themselves worked on the decorations of the Royal Palace, who at the time was at the forefront from an architectural and decorative point of view.
In the building there are frescoes and beyond: also sculptures and works that recall religious themes of extraordinary historical importance. Unfortunately, following the conquest of Venice, many of the structures of the Royal Palace were dismantled and converted and today a small part of the so much beauty survived that it enchanted all the prominent characters. Today it is therefore possible to visit the major courtyard and the chapel of San Giorgio, on the first floor of the Royal Palace. Other remains of the Royal Palace are located at the Galileian Academy of Sciences, Letters and Arts.
The room of the giants
A cycle of frescoes of great importance is what is found in the so -called Giganti room , on the second floor of the Royal Palace. The name of the room derives precisely from the frescoes that decorated it even if in the fourteenth century it was known as Sala degli Eroi at the suggestion of Petrarch since here were illustrious characters of the time here.
The original room was destroyed by a completely renewed fire and in 1540 with a cycles of frescoes performed by Domenico Campagnola and the Paduan school. The room was used as parties and meetings and then became the seat of the university library.
The Carrarese Loggia on via dell'Accademia
Beyond the Liviano Palace and precisely on via dell'Accademia, it is possible to find the Carrarese loggia , one of the parties left intact of the large complex and which symbolizes the grandeur of the family. The double loggia of the Academy and the adjacent rooms were the home of the principles.
In 1800 a wing of the loggia of the Ubertino palace was demolished and over the years the walls became houses and the private chapel was shot down to enlarge the meeting room. The external loggia is closed and frescoed by Guariento with scenes from the Old Testament who partly lost. The decoration of the meeting room contains a plant made by the cartographer Giovanni Valle, the first to use the trigonometric calculations for the construction of the plants.
The cycle of frescoes by Guariento
Guariento di Arpo was an established painter who worked in Padua and Venice and whose style came from the Giottesca tradition. The frescoes of the Loggia were made between 1346 and 1354 and it is possible to admire the first Byzantine influences. Arranged on two bands, the scenes represent the founding episodes of the Old Testament including: Noah and its thrill, Abraham who speaks with the three angels, perhaps the most iconic pictorial work of Guariento's style, and to follow the apocalyptic scenes of Sodoma and Isaac's sacrifice. The latter in which the pathos is brought to the extreme.
In the upper part we move on to the scenes related to Giuseppe's life, while in the front register the episodes of Goliath Goliath and Solomon's judgment are depicted. The scenes do not end there, because prophets and many other characters alternate representatives in epic moments of their life. Many of the frescoes have been lost, but this pictorial cycle remains one of the most important and unmissable of the fourteenth -century Paduan art scene including the beautiful Giuditta that beheaded Oloperne.
See the Carrese Reggia in Padua
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