Chiesa degli Eremitani

Padua


When a 1944 bombing raid demolished the extraordinary 1448–57 frescoes by Andrea Mantegna in the Capella Overtari in the Chiesa degli Eremitani, the loss to art history was incalculable. After half a century of painstaking reconstruction, the shattered, humidity-damaged stories of Saints James and Christopher have been puzzled together, revealing action-packed compositions and extreme perspectives that make Mantegna’s saints look like superheroes.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Padua attractions

1. Musei Civici agli Eremitani

0.06 MILES

The ground floor of this monastery houses artefacts dating from Padua’s Roman and pre-Roman past, including some delicate glass, serviceable Roman…

2. Cappella degli Scrovegni

0.1 MILES

Padua's version of the Sistine Chapel, the Cappella degli Scrovegni houses one of Italy's great Renaissance masterpieces – a striking cycle of Giotto…

3. Palazzo Zuckermann

0.12 MILES

The ground and 1st floors of the early-20th-century Palazzo Zuckermann are home to the Museo d’Arti Applicate e Decorative, with an eclectic assortment of…

5. Palazzo Bo

0.28 MILES

This Renaissance palazzo (mansion) is the seat of Padua’s history-making university. Founded by renegade scholars from Bologna seeking greater…

6. Palazzo della Ragione

0.31 MILES

Ancient Padua can be glimpsed in elegant twin squares (one the fruit market, the other the vegetable market) separated by the triple-decker Gothic Palazzo…

7. Musme

0.36 MILES

Padua’s Museum of Medical History is a fascinating mash-up of historical artefacts and high-tech exhibits that detail the city’s outsized contribution to…

8. Palazzo del Capitaniato

0.38 MILES

Flanking the western side of elegant Piazza dei Signori, the Palazzo del Capitaniato became the seat of Venetian authority when Padua came under the…