Padua was a bit of a surprise. We chose to visit it instead of Trieste, driven mostly by price of accommodation. To our surprise, the old town of Padua contained many beautiful and historical buildings everywhere you looked. Unfortunately, the city was very quiet and shuttered up for the August summer holidays.

Outside of the old city, the stretch of road from the train station was very multicultural. Lots of Chinese run business and restaurants, kebab shops, bubble tea shops and a real diverse mix of people.

The train into Padua was insanely packed. This was the train into Venice. Considering there are a number trains on this line every hour, it is an indication of how many people are traveling at this time of year.

The most eye-catching and noteworthy attraction in Padua is the massive Basilica of Saint Anthony. This church was particularly ostentatious on the inside. In particular where the gold and silver encrusted room of the relics and the room with the tomb of Saint Anthony. Saint Anthony is the patron saint of lost things so he is the one to pray to when you lose something. This comes from a story during his life where he lost his prayer book. He prayed over it and the intern who stole or borrowed it, returned it!

Saint Anthony was noted for his powerful sermons and oratory. Supposedly, the Basilica was constructed for Saint Anthony after his death. Then they exhumed his body to place it in the Basilica. This was 30 years after his death and most of his body had turned to dust. That is, except for his tongue, which was still moist and glistening as if it belonged to a living person. It is surmised that his tongue did not decay as he was such a great orator. His tongue and part of his jawbone are stored amongst other religious relics in a special gated room for relics at the Basilica.