the Grand Tour blog

Padua to Vicenza

After the visit to the Capella degli Scrovegni I decided to miss the not-very-exciting Duomo across the city, so headed direct to the station. Bought a ticket to Vicenza from the machine for just €2.35, reclaimed my case from Left Luggage, and just made it onto the 13:29; a double-decker regional train with air conditioning, thank goodness. Thus arrived in Vicenza two hours earlier than planned.

Padua: the Giotto frescoes

My reason for calling in to Padova on the way from Venice to Vicenza was to see the 1305 frescoes by Giotto which cover all the walls of the Capella degli Scrovegni. Visits are timed and strictly limited, only 25 people at a time, for 15 minutes. I'd pre-booked before leaving home, and went straight from the station to the Eremitani Museum to collect the ticket; it must be collected an hour before the visit. So time to watch an interesting video about the frescoes, hang around in the sun and take a few record pictures of the outside of the chapel, and to visit the Eremitani church, before leaving my camera bag in the museum cloakroom. 

Scrovegni's father was a banker, thought at the time to go downwards at the Last Judgement (and maybe it's still the same today), and it's suggested that he built the chapel partly to try to get a better deal for his dad, as well as showing off his wealth and leaving a substantial monument in his name. Whatever, he employed Giotto, the best painter of the time, to come and decorate his chapel. The work was completed in two years, and the frescoes tell sequential stories of Mary and of Jesus, and include the huge illustration of the Last Judgement covering almost all of the end wall.

Exactly on time we entered the conditioning room, which dehumidifies visitors to a level acceptable for the delicate paintings. After 15 minutes of conditioning, during which we watched another good video about the chapel and the frescoes, we were ushered in to the chapel itself. The frescoes are unbelievably beautiful, with delicate graduated colours, real emotion on the faces (an innovation in 1305), and perfectly rendered fabrics. The Last Judgement reveals horrible things happening to those who go downwards. 

All in all a fantastic experience, spoilt only by the resident guide with a very loud and piercing Italian voice who spoke continuously for the entire 15 minute time slot; even if I were Italian I would prefer just to look in silence.

Final bookings

Several highlights on my list must be booked in advance. First, Leonardo da Vinci's The Last Supper (Cenacolo Vinciano), in the church of Santa Maria delle Grazie in Milan. One of the world's great paintings, the 15 x 29 foot mural was completed in 1498. Despite its popularity and the restricted number of visitors, booking doesn't seem to be possible very far in advance, hence my late attempt to do so. But a week ago the website showed it fully booked to the end of June – 8:15 to 18:45, six days a week – with no further dates. Since then they've released July and August (no use to me), and most of July has already gone. In fact I called the reservation line and they did have a slot available on my day in Milan, but it was too late in the day. I may try for a cancellation or no-show when I get there.

After much thought about whether I could get to an 8:30 booking at the Uffizi gallery in Florence, I find they don't have any availability until midday anyway, on my chosen day. Nor on the next day. So I tried booking for 12:15, but then their bank wouldn't accept my currency card. I gave it a while to release the ticket and tried again with another card, which also failed. Eventually I phoned the booking number and quickly got a booking reference for 12:15; collect the ticket and pay the fee when I get there. Easy!

Booked a 12:30 visit to the Giotto Frescoes in the Scrovegni Chapel in Padua, through their website. The frescoes – considered one of the most important masterpieces of Western art – narrate events in the lives of the Virgin Mary and Christ, and cover all the walls of the Chapel. They were commissioned by Enrico degli Scrovegni and completed by Giotto in 1305. Using the booking reference I must collect my ticket from the nearby Eremitani Museum ticket office before 11:30, which should give time for the journey from Venice without rushing; the Chapel and Eremitani are not far from the station. There are a few other things on my list for Padova, of course, mainly exteriors.

Finally, a booking for Basilica San Marco in Venice, not mandatory but it ought to save some queuing. Quite easy to book on the VenetoInside website (linked from the Basilica website), although there was some confusion over booking fees due to their automated system sending the wrong email. Quickly sorted, and I now have the all-important barcode for entry. The silly thing about Basilica San Marco is that the visit is meant to last only ten minutes, hardly enough time to walk from one end to the other. I'm hoping that by loitering in a quiet place I will be able to escape being chased out.