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June 13th in Padua / Padova - St. Anthony’s Day Procession

Hello,

My question is about the events surrounding the Feast of St. Anthony on June 13th.

I have tickets for Scrovegni Chapel on June 13th (noon and again at 7pm). We also plan to visit the university. We were keen to do the 4:30 English tour (the only one that fits our schedule) but I understand there will be a lot going on near the Basilica because it is the Feast of St. Anthony. I’m perfectly happy to change our timings and do the self-guided tour of the university spaces if it means we can then be near the Basilica during the procession.

It’s difficult to obtain specific event times or the procession routes online (at least for me!). The Basilica website does not have the info up yet, and while I’ve seen some older accounts of attending the procession and some videos online, there aren’t many details.

Does anyone have any experience of the events of the day?

Our plan was to take the train from Venice, pick up both sets of Chapel tickets, do the noon appointment at the Chapel, go have lunch, visit the Basilica, then head back to the university for the 4:30 tour (which the university says is 45 minutes), then grab a bite to eat and wander a bit (Palazzo della Ragione for example) then the 7pm appointment, then train “home” to Venice. We are at the end of a three week trip at that point so I’m trying to keep the day light.

However, with the knowledge that I have unwittingly booked on a holiday, I’m keen to experience the excitement of the procession and the crowds etc.

Any advice or information would be welcome!

Thank you!

Posted by
11609 posts

Our tickets for the Scrovegni Chapel, like yours, were unknowingly the same day as the Feast of St. Anthony. After touring the Scrovigni Chapel with a group of boisterous high school students, we walked over to St. Anthony and watched and enjoyed the procession.

Posted by
718 posts

Thank you for mentioning the university tour. We are planning to be in Padova for 5 days later this year and that is something we will consider doing as well.

Posted by
4 posts

The website used by the university for ticket purchase has the price at double the university’s price. My understanding (from email communication with them) is that it is possible to book with the university and then pay on site. For example, the cost of an adult ticket is €8 but €16.50 on the website. I don’t mind paying a small premium for online services, but a two fold increase (especially when there are three of us travelling) is a bit intense. So you may wish to email them.

As well, while we were keen on the tour, there are entrance times at 15 minute intervals for a self-guided visit. They indicated there are QR codes that can be used at each key room and those codes will give you some history and information. So that is a very flexible way to go about it if you cannot make the tour schedule work.

I’ll cut and paste the email here in case it’s helpful to anyone:

“ On June 13th there is a holiday in Padua. On Saturdays, Sundays and holidays, Palazzo Bo can be visited with the Palazzo Bo - Il Novecento di Gio Ponti tour. The guided tour includes, in addition to the spaces of the "Historical Tour," the rooms of the Rector's Office, the Ancient Archives and the Basilica - unless institutional events occur.

You will be able to visit Palazzo Bo:
on your own, by using different QR Codes you will find in the Palace
with a guided tour that will last 75 minutes with the following schedule: 9.30 a.m. (Italian) - 10:30 a.m. (Italian) - 11:30 a.m. (English) - 12:30 p.m. (Italian) - 2.30 p.m. (Italian) - 3:30 p.m. (Italian) - 4:30 p.m. (English) - 5:30 p.m. (Italian).

The cost of the visit on Saturdays, Sundays and holidays is different:
Entrance ticket: 10€ full price (26 to 64 years old); 6€ (13 to 25 y.o)
Entrance + guided tour: the entrance ticket + 5€ per person for the guided tour

The prices indicated on our website include presale costs.

To book a visit, we kindly ask for the following data:
day and time of the visit;
type of visit;
language of the visit;
right to reductions or free of charge, which can be consulted at the following address: https://www.unipd.it/en/bo;
name and mobile number of a contact person;
method of payment: at the ticket office the day of the visit, or via the PagoPA system (to be payed the day before the visit at the latest)
Please do not hesitate to contact us for any further information.
Kind regards “