With “Padova Urbs picta”, Padua and its fourteenth-century pictorial cycle has become a UNESCO heritage site.
A unique itinerary in the world also available in an app that we recommend you download to discover all the secrets of the eight Paduan sites of universal value.
Padova Urbs picta: widespread wonders, in the heart of the historic center
With the inscription of “Padova Urbs picta” in the World Heritage List, Veneto today is the Italian region with the largest number of UNESCO sites: nine.
In turn Padua is one of the few cities in the world to keep two of them. Our city, in fact, has already been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1997, thanks to the extraordinary Botanical Garden of the University.
Now, with Urbs picta, it doubles its prestige. The fourteenth-century cycle of Paduan frescoes, in fact, for UNESCO:
The cycle of frescoes illustrates a completely new way of representing narration in painting, with new spatial perspectives influenced by advances in the science of optics and a new ability to represent human figures, in all their characteristics, including feelings and emotions. These innovations mark a new era in the history of art, producing an irreversible change of direction.
Starting from Giotto with his frescoes in the Scrovegni Chapel up to Jacopo da Verona and passing through Guariento, Giusto de’ Menabuoi, Altichiero da Zevio and Jacopo Avanzi, here are all eight sites that you cannot miss.
You will have before your eyes an immense artistic heritage that in the fourteenth century made Padua the protagonist of the renewal of European figurative language, thanks to a set of masterpieces created between 1305 and 1397 that revolutionized the history of art.
The Padova Urbs picta App: this is how it works
The “Padova Urbs picta” app, developed for Android and iOS systems, is structured in three parts: historical-artistic, tourist, and a game complete with a quiz.
A multimedia, multilingual, accessible and interactive tool, which can be modulated according to your needs, which will allow you to easily reach and discover the eight Unesco sites of the fourteenth-century frescoed cycles in Padua.
In the “Padova Urbs picta” app on your smartphone you will find pills of history and art, described in an easily accessible language, to be read and listened to freely and at your own pace.
The glossary of artistic terms makes it easy to deepen a specific term or clarify a doubt.
tempoFurthermore, for each place you haveuseful information to take a journey through time to discover the masterpieces of Giotto and other artists of the fourteenth century who have made Padua a treasure trove of art and culture:
- the days and opening hours of each site
- Google Maps geolocation indications
- the ability to contact museum reception services directly and visit their respective web pages, by sending an email to plan your visit.
The Diary section monitors your activities (the pills read), the awards and the reward points that will be awarded to you after taking certain actions.
By completing 15% of the planned activities, a quiz opens in very particular medieval settings. You will be assigned an animal figure that incorporates the original frescoes in a modern and fantasy key, associated with a small fantasy story.
Another option available in the application is the setting created by the original music of the fourteenth century.
Art in art: Paolo Fresu pays homage to Giotto’s frescoes
Speaking of music, in addition to the one you find in the official application of the Unesco serial site in Padua, here is a bonus from us.
The jazz player Paolo Fresu paid tribute to the place of excellence in Padua Urbs Picta in an extraordinary way. With his live music inside the masterpieces of the Scrovegni Chapel he created new and unmissable emotions.
Another suggestion to anticipate your visit to the 8 UNESCO sites of our “painted city”.
Photos via:
padovaurbspicta.org