Padua, in the Veneto, has one of the great pilgrimage churches of Europe, and it is the grave of a Portuguese friar. Anthony of Padua was born in Lisbon, joined the Franciscans and became a famous preacher, and he died near Padua in 1231 at the age of thirty-six. He was made a saint within a year, one of the fastest canonisations in history, and construction of the great basilica began soon after. The Basilica of Saint Anthony, which the people of Padua simply call il Santo, is a church of many domes, partly Romanesque and partly Gothic with a hint of Byzantine, and it holds the saint's tomb in a side chapel, where pilgrims press their hands against the marble.
The basilica holds treasures of art, including the bronze figures of the high altar by Donatello, who spent ten years in Padua, and an equestrian statue of the condottiere Gattamelata outside, the first great bronze horse of the Renaissance. The monastery next to it has cloisters worth a visit. Padua also has the Scrovegni Chapel, painted by Giotto in the early fourteenth century, whose blue ceiling and frescoes mark a turning point in Western art, and the university, founded in 1222, where Galileo taught for eighteen years.
The great oval square called Prato della Valle is a few minutes' walk away, with a ring of statues around a green island and a canal. It is a pleasant place to sit with a spritz, the local aperitif. The city is full of arcades, cafés and markets, and the air in the evening smells of coffee and woodsmoke.
Riding in the centre of Padua needs patience, since much of the old town is a restricted traffic zone, and it is best to park outside the walls and walk. The surrounding plain is flat and fast, with traffic on the ring roads, and the nearby Euganean Hills offer a lovely twisty alternative. Fuel is easy to find, and Ponte San Nicolò and Mandriola have supermarkets and cafés. Spring and autumn are the best seasons, and the basilica is crowded on the saint's feast day, 13 June.