Giotto and Mantegna

Dedicated to Santa Maria della Carità, the Cappella degli Scrovegni stands near the Giardini dell’Arena; it was commissioned and frescoed between 1303 and the early months of 1305 by Enrico Scrovegni for the repose of his father’s soul, a very wealthy usurer and the founder of the family’s fortunes.

In Giotto’s work, the figures break away from the canons of Byzantine and medieval art to acquire their own unique and inimitable features, moving freely through space: for this reason, the Scrovegni cycle represents one of the greatest masterpieces of world painting, which over the centuries has impressed and influenced generations of painters, artists and men of culture.

A short walk away stands the Chiesa degli Eremitani, which in the Cappella Ovetari houses one of the earliest masterpieces by Andrea Mantegna, who was originally from Padua. In 1944 the Chapel was struck by an Allied bomb, which tore the entire pictorial cycle to pieces; what remains is the result of the painstaking restoration work of generations of experts and the use of the most modern technologies.

Between the two churches is the main seat of the Musei Civici, with its rich collections including works by artists of the calibre of Giorgione, Titian, Giotto, Tintoretto, Veronese, Canova and Tiepolo.

Musei Civici agli Eremitani          
piazza Eremitani 8
Tel. 049.8204551
Opening hours: 9 – 19,  closed on Mondays

Cappella degli Srovegni
piazza Eremitani 8, entrance through the Musei Civici agli Eremitani
visits by reservation up to the day before, last-minute subject to availability
evening visits from 1 March to 4 November, last entry at 21.40
Tel. 049.2010020
opening hours: 9 – 19
discount with Studiare a Padova Card
www.cappelladegliscrovegni.it