Want to visit Padua but only have a weekend? With the Urbs Picta Card, you can explore Giotto's Padua and more, even with a weekend or short stay. Thanks to the initiative of a University of Padua spin-off startup, Meeple Srl, you simply download an app to your smartphone to access eight UNESCO sites in Padua, allowing you to discover the works of great 14th-century painters as well as World Heritage sites.
The Padova Urbs Picta Card is a single ticket you can keep on your smartphone that allows you to see the fresco cycles in the Scrovegni Chapel, the Palazzo della Regione, as well as the Basilica del Santo and the Baptistery. This provides quick and convenient access, avoids ticket lines, and saves precious time to admire the works of Padua's 14th-century painters and the city's architectural masterpieces.
What is the Padua Urbs Picta Card and how to buy it?
The card, which you get by downloading the app of the same name to your smartphone, is a single ticket that is valid for 48 hours at a cost of 28 euros, or 72 hours at a cost of 35 euros . For tourists, it also includes a ticket for travel on public transport between one location and another.
The Picta Urbs card of Padua includes visits to these places in the city:
- Scrovegni Chapel (including the Eremitani Museum and Palazzo Zuckermann)
- Palace of Reason
- Oratory of San Michele
- Church of Saints Philip and James in the Hermits
- Oratory of San Giorgio
- Basilica of the Holy
- Chapel of the Carrarese Palace
- Baptistery of the Cathedral
The card guides you through the most fascinating fresco cycles of 14th-century Padua, through images, descriptive texts, and even maps and music that recount the painters' journey through the cultural development of this splendid city. The app also features stories and exclusive content that allows you to delve deeper into the pictorial cycles and fully immerse yourself in the adventure of the city's history.
The Padova Urbs Picta Card is designed to accompany visitors, not just as a simple entrance ticket: it includes a comprehensive glossary to deepen your understanding of artistic terms, and new, interesting content is constantly being added. Furthermore, even simply using the app, you can get detailed tourist information to help you plan your visit. Fun and games are also included: at the end of certain activities, you can take a medieval quiz and unlock gothic animals to experience a fantasy story that also includes original 19th-century music.
Residents of the Province of Padua can purchase the card for 6 months for just €25, allowing them to visit their city's masterpieces multiple times for a minimal fee.
Discovering Urbs Picta: Padua, City of Painters
The term Urbs Picta means "painted city" and indicates the historical importance of the 14th-century fresco cycle found in this city, included in the UNESCO World Heritage List. The buildings in which the great cycle of Padua frescoes can be found are the eight that can be visited with the Card, a collection of religious, civil, and public buildings that represent a priceless complex with ancient roots that attracts tourists from around the world every year.
In addition to the frescoes by Giotto, who began the cycle way back in 1302, you will find works by followers of his school such as Guariento di Arpo, Altichiero da Zevio, Jacopo Avanzi, and Jacopo da Verona, who not only painted stories from the Old and New Testaments but also reproduced local stories to exalt the city, leaving us a precious testimony of universal value.
It might seem obvious, but visiting Padua and fully enjoying its beauty in just one day is impossible, so why not stay at least one night? Booking an apartment online lets you reduce your budget and enjoy another day in the city.
