Prato della Valle, one of Padua’s icons, is a vast sweeping elliptical city square, the most important square in the city and one of Europe’s largest, second only to the Red Square in Moscow.

The central green island and the ornate canal that surrounds it make this place unique and enchanting, inspired by the Venetian patrician garden tradition that was used here for the first time as an element of urban planning.

The square is animated every day by Paduan citizens who walk, study or sunbathe, while in the evening it becomes a meeting place for children and a venue for musical and artistic events, such as the famous Festivalbar, skating competitions and parties.