Prato della Valle is a 90,000-square-meter elliptical square in Padua, Italy. It is the second largest square in Italy and one of the largest in Europe. Today, the square is a large space with a green island at the center, l'Isola Memmia, surrounded by a small canal bordered by two rings of statues.
Padova – Prato della Valle – Engraving by F. Piranesi (c. 1785).
Prato della Valle, Abbey of Santa Giustina on the middle in the background
The Abbey of Santa Giustina as seen from the Prato.
Panorama
Padua is a city and comune in Veneto, northern Italy, and the capital of the eponymous province of Padua. The city lies on the banks of the river Bacchiglione, 40 kilometres west of Venice and 29 km southeast of Vicenza, and has a population of 214,000. It is also the economic and communications hub of the area. Padua is sometimes included, with Venice and Treviso, in the Padua-Treviso-Venice Metropolitan Area (PATREVE) which has a population of around 2,600,000.
The Botanical Garden of Padova today; in the background, the Basilica of Sant'Antonio
Image: Prato della Valle
Image: Abbazia di Santa Giustina
Image: Torre dell'Orologio Padova