Padua, Italy

Aside from being the setting for Shakespeare’s “Taming of the Shrew”, the main attraction is the Scrovegni Chapel where Giotto’s frescoes are located.  The fresco cycle details the life of the Virgin Mary.  Giotto was a painter and architect from Florence.  The subjects of his frescoes are portrayed in perspective, more three dimensionally, and were painted in landscapes or surroundings.  This is significant in the art world because up until Giotto’s work, paintings were often done two-dimensionally and flat.  Because of this, Giotto is often described as one of the men who started the Italian Renaissance.  There was immense restoration done to the frescoes so when we saw them, the colors were supremely vivid.  The gold leaves sparkled and the blues looked as if they were freshly crushed from lapis.  No amount of photographs could ever do the frescoes justice.