Padova’s stunning Piazza delle erbe & Piazza della frutta

My son’s track meets take me to some pretty spectacular locations. The indoor season in Italy is only in two Italian cities that have full indoor facilities: Ancona and Padova.

I hadn’t been to the Venetian city of Padova in quite a few years, so I was thrilled when my son decided to do a few weekend trips here -and was even more thrilled when we were blessed with spectacular weather.

I’ve already written about the jaw-dropping Giotto frescoes at Padova’s Scrovegni chapel that alone make Padova a must-see desitination.

But the entire city is an artistic masterpiece – nowhere more so that the twin squares – Piazza delle erbe and Piazza della frutta.

For centuries, these twin squares have been the heart of the city. Although they were said to have been marketplaces dating back to Ancient Rome, the squares adopted their present appearance in tenth and eleventh centuries.

The beautiful and imposing Palazzo della Ragione was constructed in the thirteenth century and housed indoor merchants (as it does today) alongside those that set up on the squares.

Medieval times witnessed public executions on these squares, but also popular folk festivals and celebrations.

Today, it is a lively market, and is popular in the evenings for dinner and drinks.

We loved passing here numerous times each day, to enjoy the changing light of the day, or the spectacular illumination at night that accompanied the crowds.

Padova is a great city for wandering, and you’re sure to admire these spectacular public market squares.