Piazza dei Signori, Padua – Prato della Valle loop from Padova
Piazza dei Signori, Padua – Prato della Valle loop from Padova
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832
hikers
Piazza dei Signori, Padua – Prato della Valle loop from Padova
02:03
7.98km
40m
Hiking
Moderate hike. Good fitness required. Easily-accessible paths. Suitable for all skill levels. The starting point of the route is accessible with public transport.
Last updated: August 7, 2026
Tips
Temporary access restrictions
Includes segments with temporary access restrictions.
After 1.44 km for 190 m
Customers only
Waypoints
Start point
Train Station
577 m
Main Trunk of the Piovego
Highlight • River
2.27 km
University of Padua
Highlight • Historical Site
Translated by Google •
Tip by
2.29 km
Moroni Palace
Highlight • Historical Site
Translated by Google •
Tip by
2.30 km
Padua City Center
Highlight • Settlement
Translated by Google •
Tip by
2.82 km
Padua City Center
Highlight • Settlement
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Tip by
2.98 km
Piazza dei Signori, Padua
Highlight • Historical Site
Translated by Google •
Tip by
3.29 km
Palazzo della Ragione and the Piazza delle Erbe market, Padua
Highlight • Historical Site
The Salòn, or Palazzo della Ragione, the former seat of Padua's municipal courts, is one of the largest column-free halls in Europe. Considered one of the most famous civic monuments in Europe from the time of the Communes, the building was begun in 1218.
Between 1306 and 1308, Fra Giovanni degli Eremitani transformed the three large rooms into a single hall and designed a roof in the shape of an inverted ship's hull.
Giotto and his workshop were commissioned to paint the walls with frescoes; however, the cycle was destroyed by fire in 1420.
The frescoes were restored by the Paduan Nicolo’ Miretto in collaboration with Stefano da Ferrara and other painters, based on the studies of Pietro d’Abano, a wealthy scholar of his time.
The fresco cycle is one of the very few medieval astrological cycles to have survived to this day. The connection between the paintings and the function of the place explains the presence of animal figures representing the insignia of the courts, whose function is also linked to the allegories of Justice, Law, the Community in Rule, and the frescoes depicting the Judgment of Solomon and the court scene.
In the great hall is the "Pietra del Vituperio," or Stone of Shame, upon which insolvent debtors, clad only in a shirt, had to sit three times (the custom is the origin of the expression "to stay in one's shirt"), while repeating the Latin phrase "cedo bonis" (roughly translated as "I will pay the bill"). Also located there is the large wooden horse, crafted by Annibale Capodilista for a tournament and donated to the city by the family.
Today, the great hall serves as a venue for exhibitions and cultural events.
Not to mention that "Sotto il salone" is the oldest cooperative in the world, dating back 700 years.
Text / Source: Turismo Padova
turismopadova.it/en/the-palazzo-della-ragione
Translated by Google •
Tip by
4.37 km
Prato della Valle
Highlight • Monument
The Prato della Valle, one of Padua's landmarks, is a large, monumental space distinguished by a central green island, Isola Memmia, named in honor of the city's governor who commissioned its creation. This island is surrounded by a canal adorned with a double pedestal featuring numbered statues of famous figures from the past. Since antiquity, this public space has served both economic and recreational functions.
In Roman times, a large theater, the Zairo, stood here; remains of the theater's foundations have been found in the canal surrounding Isola Memmia, along with a circular racecourse for chariots. During the Middle Ages, fairs, tournaments, festivals, and competitions were held here; it was the site of large gatherings of "all the free men of Padua," and as early as 1077, it was a marketplace. Until 1767, it belonged to the Abbey of Santa Giustina. Then, the Senate of Veneto declared it municipal land and, together with Andrea Memmo, Provveditore della Serenissima (Governor of the Venetian Republic), implemented a radical redevelopment project. The aim was to create a new urban commercial center, a space suitable for fairs and events.
Later, pavilions were erected on Isola Memmia to establish a market. Subsequently, trees were planted, giving the square a distinctly English feel, while the surrounding buildings made it unique, original, and memorable. The design is inspired by the great Venetian tradition of the patrician garden, which here, for the first time, is taken out of private use and proposed according to neoclassical concepts as an urban planning solution and ecological enhancement.
Text / Source: Turismo Padova
turismopadova.it/de/orte/prato-della-valle
Translated by Google •
Tip by
7.98 km
End point
Train Station
Way Types & Surfaces
Way Types
5.58 km
1.47 km
428 m
288 m
193 m
Surfaces
5.69 km
1.05 km
613 m
541 m
< 100 m
< 100 m
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Friday 9 October
23°C
13°C
33 %
Additional weather tips
Max wind speed: 8.0 km/h
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Our route recommendations are based on thousands of hikes, rides, and runs completed by other people on komoot.
Comments
It's wonderfully normal, almost only students and locals around, simply wonderful...
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