Padua Botanical Garden
The Botanical Garden is a 20-minute walk from the main conference venue. Established in 1545, it is the world’s oldest academic botanical garden still in its original location, renowned for its historical design and diverse plant collections. Since 1997, it has been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. In 2014, the Botanic Garden was extended with the Biodiversity Garden, a single glasshouse approximately one hundred metres long and 18 metres high, divided into different environments with controlled temperature and humidity settings, and housing around 1,300 species.
Palazzo Bo
The Bo Palace, the historic seat of the University of Padua, is a must-see destination in the heart of the city. This elegant Renaissance palace combines centuries of academic tradition with stunning architecture, from its ancient courtyards lined with coats of arms to the world’s oldest permanent Anatomical Theatre dating back to 1595. Inside, visitors can admire grand halls, frescoed rooms and the chair from which Galileo Galilei once taught. Today, guided tours offer a fascinating glimpse into more than 800 years of history, culture and science in one of Europe’s oldest universities. (Picture from Massimo Pistore).
Giovanni Poleni Museum
The Giovanni Poleni Museum tells the story of physics between Padua and the world through a unique collection, begun in 1739 with the Physics Cabinet founded by Giovanni Poleni, one of the most famous in Europe at the time. The museum’s scientific instruments span centuries of innovation, from the Renaissance era to the 20th century, reflecting developments in physics research and teaching at the University of Padua and beyond. Through the stories of objects, marked by both successes and failures, the museum offers a glimpse into the complex relationship between science and society from the Renaissance to the present day.