Today the director of Varna International and I spent the morning in Padova to plan side tours for the musicians who will join the festival tour next summer.Home to a prestigious university built in 1222, Padova contains some of the most remarkable artistic treasures in the world, such as the famous 14th-century frescoes of Giotto in the Scrovegni Chapel.
Located about 20 kilometers west of the Venice lagoon, Padova is an ancient city, which dates back to the 11th century BC.
During the Roman times, the city was known as Patavium, which, at that time, was inhabited by the Veneti people.
After the fall of the Roman Empire, Padova passed through many powers during the Medieval period, from the Huns (5th century) to Gothic kings (6th century) and onto the Lombards and then the Franks (7th century).
Interestingly, these Goths wore knee-length tunic over trousers with a cloak that was knotted in the front. Distinctly Gothic, these garments were cut at the edges in long points.
The Lombards were a Barbarian tribe from Germany that wore tunics, large mantles, and strips of cloth that was attached to the legs through gartering (crisscrossing strips of cloth). The Lombards also wore pointed shoes!
The city fell under the rule of Venice in 1405, later becoming part of the Austrian Empire 1797 and the Kingdom of Italy in 1866.
Numerous significant events took place in this magnificent city: Mozart composed there; Shakespeare wrote “The Taming of the Shrew” there; and Galileo was chair at the university for a decade.
Photos Copyright Men’s Fashion by Francesco.
