The Scrovegni Chapel is one of the greatest masterpieces of Western art, recognized throughout the world, and a candidate to become a world heritage site. It is located in the Arena Gardens, north of the historic center of Padua where you can also admire the remains of an ancient Roman arena dating back to the first century.
The small Romanesque-Gothic church that houses this great treasure painted by Giotto, was built by the noble Enrico Scrovegni, in 1303, to redeem the memory of his father who became rich thanks to the practice of usury. The building is a place of Catholic worship, divided into the first square-plan nave, in the apsidal area, in the second part, it is polygonal, with five sides.
The pictorial cycle that decorates the walls of the private chapel of the Scrovegni family, shows scenes from the life of Gioacchino and Anna, of the Virgin Mary and of Jesus Christ. What is most striking, however, are the blue notes of the backgrounds and the starry sky of the vault, an ultramarine blue, made from lapis lazuli.
The central theme, however, is salvation, beginning with the appearance of God, up to the Last Judgment. What emerges in any case is Giotto's revolutionary style, which begins to represent its characters in a more natural way.
One of the oldest cities in Italy, its historic center preserves great treasures, great traditions and great values, Padua.
