Prato della Valle: Italy's Largest Square and Its 78 Statues

The ellipse is eighteenth-century, but the ground is much older. The area sat just outside the Roman city's walls, and remains of the theatre district — foundations, fragments, and the sense of a curve in the underlying plan — still surface in and around the site. Through the medieval centuries the space was simply the prato, the field by the city: open grass where the records from the sixteenth century place jousts, festivals and public spectacles, and where the river's habits kept the ground damp enough to qualify, on maps and in complaints, as a marsh.

The transformation that made the modern square ran from 1767 to 1784, on the initiative of Andrea Memmo — a Venetian patrician with strong Paduan connections — and to the design of the architect Domenico Cerato. The plan was radical and economical at once: drain and level the field, cut an elliptical canal around its rim, bury the bank walls in stone, and raise a central island — named Isola Memmia after the patron — encircled by water and lined with statuary. The 78 statues of illustrious figures tied to the city's history were commissioned for the island, funded by subscription from Paduan families who paid for the privilege of honouring their own; with later additions, some counts of the statuary reach 87, though the 78 commissioned figures remain the programme's core. Around the rim, the neo-Gothic Loggia Amulea marks the western edge, and the enormous mass of the abbey of Santa Giustina closes the southern view — the backdrop that makes every photograph of the canal read instantly as Padua.

• Roman era: the site lies outside the walls, near the theatre district; remains surface around the square.
• Middle ages-18th century: open field and occasional marsh — jousts and festivities in the sixteenth century.
• 1767-1784: drainage and rebuilding on Andrea Memmo's initiative, to Domenico Cerato's design.
• Isola Memmia: the central island, ringed by canal water and the 78 commissioned statues.
• Today: public square with markets, events, a running loop and the Christmas market in December.

The square rewards repetition more than inspection. Walk the canal ring once for the statues — each figure stands on its pedestal with an inscription naming a jurist, scientist, captain or churchman worth a moment's reading — then cross one of the four bridges onto the island and sit down, because the view outward, with the water on both sides and the abbey's brick mass behind, is the composition. Photographers should aim for the low light: morning mist off the canal in the cooler months, and a long gold hour across the western paving in summer. The flat, traffic-free ring path makes the square the city's default running and cycling circuit, busiest between 7:00 and 9:00, and stroller-friendly at every hour.

The event calendar is seasonal but real: a Christmas market occupies part of the square in the weeks before December (dates are announced by the city each year), open-air concerts and temporary installations use the paving in the warm months, and the weekly rhythms of markets and fairs are posted on the city's tourism site. The canal itself is ornamental — no boating, no swimming; the city periodically drains and cleans it. Food is easier inside the surrounding streets than on the square, so plan the aperitivo for the lanes towards the Santo quarter or the centre, and keep the square for the walk between them.

• Walk the ring once for the statues, then cross a bridge and take the island view outward.
• Best light: early morning and sunset; the ring path is the city's main running loop.
• Christmas market in December; concerts and events on the paving in summer.
• Canal etiquette: ornamental water — no boating or swimming.
• Eat in the lanes around the square, not on it — see where to eat.