Padova - Basilica Pontificia di Sant'Antonio

I had spent hours in Montagnana, celebrating the Italian carnival (see previous uploads), so I reached Padua (ital. Padova) at dusk. Way too late.

The construction of the "Basilica of Saint Anthony" (locally known as "il Santo") started just one year after the death of St. Anthony. It was completed in 1310, but that was just the start of numerous alterations and modifications. St. Anthony, who was born in Portugal, had been buried in a small chapel "Santa Maria Mater Domini" that in the end got incorporated into the present basilica. Over the centuries the basilica has grown under different influences - and by now looks a bit "byzantine" with the domes and minaret like towers.

www.basilicadelsanto.it/ing/home.asp