Prato della Valle

Prato della Valle (Prà de ła Vałe in Venetian) is a 90,000-square-meter elliptical square in Padua, Italy. It is the second largest square in Italy and one of the largest in Europe. Today, the square is a large space with a green island at the center, l'Isola Memmia, surrounded by a small canal bordered by two rings of statues.

History

Prior to 1635, the area that would come to be known as the "Prato della valle" was largely a featureless expanse of partially swampy terrain just south of the old city walls of Padova. In 1636, a group of Venetian and Veneto notables financed the construction of a temporary but lavishly appointed theater as a venue for mock battles on horseback. The musical entertainment that served as the prologue to the jousting is considered to be the immediate predecessor of the first public opera performances in Venice, which began the following year.

In 1767, the square, which belonged to the monks of Santa Giustina, became the public property of the city of Padua. In 1775, Andrea Memmo, whose statue is in the square, decided to reclaim and restructure the entire area. The entire project, which was never fully completed, is represented in a famous copper engraving by Francesco Piranesi from 1785. It seems that Memmo commissioned this and other representations and kept them on exhibition at the Palazzo Venezia, the headquarters of the Embassy of the Republic in Rome. He did this in order to entice other important figures into financing the construction of statues to decorate the square. The project was approved by Domenico Cerato, professor of architecture at Vicenza and Padova.

The preliminary excavations done to install the plumbing system and reclaim the area were directed by Simone Stratico. These excavations brought to light the remains of an ancient Roman theater. These findings conferred a sense of historical dignity on the initiative and transformed it into a project of reclamation for its natural public use. Andrea Memmo resided at Palazzo Angeli, constructed in the 15th century and located in Prato della Valle at an angle with the avenue Umberto I. Today, the monumental palazzo, the property of the city of Padova, hosts the Museum of Precinema, Minici Zotti Collection.

Of particular interest are the Benedictine Abbey of Santa Giustina, the neoclassical style Loggia Amulea, and the many interesting palazzi constructed between the 14th and the 18th centuries that surround the square.

Prato della Valle today

Prato della Valle has long been dear to the hearts of Paduans, who often simply refer to it as Il Prato. At various times, it was also known as the valley without grass, because the shade of trees prevented much grass from growing there. Today, however, it is completely covered with grass and other vegetation.

During the 1990s, the Prato went through a period of degradation and neglect, but today it has been restored through reclamation projects organized by a group of Padua's concerned citizens. During the summer, the square is alive with large numbers of visitors who skate, stroll, or study while basking in the sun. Summer evenings are marked by the presence of teenagers and young adults who chat until the early hours of the morning.

For several years running, the Prato della Valle has hosted the Paduan section of the Festivalbar, and has also played host to skating competitions that have availed themselves of the wide, paved ring that surrounds the square.

Every New Year's Day, and during the Feast of the Assumption in mid August, parties with music and fireworks take place in the Prato.

The monumental 15th century building of the Palazzo Angeli, belonging to the City of Padova and once the home of Andrea Memmo, hosts the Museum of Precinema – Minici Zotti Collection.

Statues Today there are 78 statues (40 in the exterior ring and 38 statues in the inner ring); following the original plan, there had been 88 statues. They were made from stone of Vicenza between 1775 and 1883 by various artists. One of the statues represents Andrea Memmo, the patrician Venetian known as the provider of Padova.

The numeration follows the sculpted numbers on the base of the statues.

Exterior ring 01 Antonio Diedo 02 Antenor 03 Albert Azzo II 04 Publius Clodius Thrasea Paetus 05 Torquato Tasso 06 Pietro D'Abano 07 Giovanni Francesco Mussato 08 Pagano Della Torre 09 Lucio Arunzio Stella 10 Opsicella 11 (Obelisk) 12 (Obelisk) 13 Bernardo Nani 14 Vettor Pisani 15 Lodovico Sambonifacio 16 Antonio Michiel 17 Antonio Barbarigo 18 Domenico Lazzarin 19 Taddeo Pepoli 20 Marco Mantova Benavides 21 Andrea Mantegna 22 Pope Paul II (Pietro Barbo) 23 Pope Eugene IV (Gabriele Condulmer) 24 Bernardino Trevisan 25 Antonio da Rio 26 Andrea da Recanati 27 Ludovico Ariosto 28 Albertino Mussato 29 Giuseppe Tartini (with Francescantonio Vallotti) 30 Giovanni Maria Memmo 31 Michele Morosini 32 Melchiorre Cesarotti 33 (Obelisk) 34 (Obelisk) 35 Petrach (Francesco Petrarca) 36 Galileo Galilei 37 Alessandro Orsato 38 Alteniero degli Azzoni 39 Sicco Polenton 40 Antonio Zacco 41 Cesare Piovene 42 Maffeo Memmo 43 Andrea Navagero 44 Andrea MemmoInner ring 45 (Empty pedestal) 46 Zambono Dotto de' Dauli 47 Sperone Speroni 48 Titus Livius (Livy) 49 Gerolamo Savorgnan 50 Fortunio Liceti 51 Lodovico Buzzuccarini 52 Giovanni Poleni 53 Guglielmo Malaspina degli Obizzi 54 Giovanni Dondi dell'Orologio 55 (Obelisk) 56 (Obelisk) 57 Antonio Schinella de' Conti 58 Jacopino de' Rossi 59 Gustavo Adamo Baner 60 Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden 61 Matteo de' Ragnina 62 Hiob Ludolf 63 Stefano Gallini 64 Filippo Salviati 65 Oberto Pallavicino 66 Pope Alexander VIII (Pietro Ottoboni) 67 Pope Clement XIII (Carlo Rezzonico) 68 Antonio Canova (with the procurator Antonio Capello) 69 Francesco Luigi Fanzago 70 Francesco Pisani 71 Giulio Pontedera 72 Nicolò Tron 73 Francesco Guicciardini 74 Jacopo Menochi 75 John III Sobieski 76 Stephen Báthory 77 (Obelisk) 78 (Obelisk) 79 Pietro Danieletti (with Gianbattista Morgagni) 80 Rainiero Vasco 81 Francesco Morosini 82 Gerolamo Liorsi 83 Antonio Savonarola 84 Marino Cavalli 85 Andrea Briosco (with Gaspara Stampa) 86 Albertino Papafava 87 Michele Savonarola 88 (Empty pedestal)Statues of Venetian Doges, destroyed by Napoleon in 1797: Antonio Grimani Marcantonio Giustinian Alvise Mocenigo Marcantonio Memmo Francesco Morosini, also known as "il Peloponnesiaco"The present statue, number 81, was made after 1797 and Morosini is represented as an ancient Roman hero instead of the Doge of Venice

Prato della Valle

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