Padua Cathedral

Padua Cathedral tickets: which one to buy

Padua Cathedral, the Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta, stands on the Piazza del Duomo in the centre of Padua, in the Veneto region of northern Italy, beside the Baptistery and the Bishop's Palace, and entry to the cathedral is free, while the baptistery and the Diocesan Museum, housed in the Bishop's Palace, require tickets. The cathedral is less famous than the Basilica of Saint Anthony, the city's great pilgrimage church, and it is often quieter. Padua is about half an hour from Venice by train, and the cathedral is about fifteen minutes' walk from the station.

Visitors often combine it with the frescoed baptistery next door, the Scrovegni Chapel, the Palazzo della Ragione and the markets of the Piazza delle Erbe, the university's Palazzo Bo with its anatomical theatre, the Basilica of Saint Anthony and the Prato della Valle, one of the largest squares in Europe. The cathedral is active, and visiting pauses during services. Its plain brick facade, never covered with marble, makes it look unfinished from the square, but the interior is bright and spacious. The square in front hosts markets and cafés.

Visiting Padua Cathedral: what to see

A cathedral has stood on this site since the early Christian period, and it was rebuilt after an earthquake in 1117. The present cathedral was begun in 1552 on a design associated with Michelangelo, although the plan was changed by later architects, and construction continued slowly, with the building completed only in the eighteenth century and the facade left unfinished. The interior has a Latin cross plan, with a nave, domes and a large choir, and its white and grey stone gives it a calm, classical appearance. The poet Petrarch held a position as a canon of the cathedral in the fourteenth century, and he left a bequest to the chapter;

a memorial recalls him. The cathedral holds the relics of Saint Gregorio Barbarigo, a seventeenth-century bishop of Padua, and several chapels with altars and paintings. The Chapel of the Holy Relics holds reliquaries, and the sacristy has paintings. In the late twentieth century, the choir was redesigned, and modern works of art were added, including a crucifix and bronze sculptures. The Diocesan Museum, in the Bishop's Palace, displays paintings, illuminated manuscripts, silverwork and the cathedral treasury, and its Hall of Bishops is decorated with frescoed portraits.

Padua Cathedral opening hours and the best time to go

The cathedral is open daily, with a break at lunchtime, and the Diocesan Museum has more limited hours. Spring and autumn are the most pleasant seasons in Padua, and summer is hot and humid. The morning markets on the nearby squares make weekdays lively. The feast of Saint Anthony on 13 June brings pilgrims to the city, although the celebrations are centred on his basilica. Christmas brings a nativity scene to the cathedral. Allow about half an hour for the cathedral, and combine it with the baptistery next door.