Padua (Padova) – Patavium noblissima

Padua (Padova) commented by Braun (on verso):

“That Padua is a very old town can be seen from the fact that it is said to have been built by Antenor, a Trojan who came to Italy after the destruction of his home town. … Finally it came under the rule of the Venetians. How strange is the course of this world, for originally Venice was a foundation of the burghers of Padua, meaning that the mother’s head was now lying in the lap of her daughter. But the latter was happy to protect her, and stood firmly by this commitment. However, the Venetians did not remain long in possession of the city and were forced to hand it over to Emperor Maximilian and the Empire in 1509, but seized it again two months ago.”

TRANSLATION OF CARTOUCHE TEXT: Padua, renowned city in Italy and a flourishing centre of the sciences.

Taschen:

The most striking feature of this bird’s-eye view of Padua from the west is the city wall and moat, built by the Venetians in 1509. The medieval heart of the city, also surrounded by a wall and moat, contains the town hall and the cathedral, and outside this is the monastery church of Santa Giustina (57) with the tomb of St Lucas, located in the present-day Prato della Valle, the church of St Anthony with the saint’s tomb (32) is inconspicuous. The ancient city was destroyed by the Langobardi (Lombards) in AD 601 and rebuilt in the late 8th century. At the beginning of the 12th century Padua became a free commune. In 1164 it joined the Lombard League. In 1222 Frederick II founded Italy’s third university here. It is one of the most famous in the country, and such celebrated scholars as Galileo Galilei worked here. (Taschen)