P183 - Italy - Prato della Valle, Padova

Prato_della_Valle, Padova, Italy

Padua (Italian: Padova) is a city in the Veneto, northern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Padua and the economic and communications hub of the area. Padua's population is 212,500. The city is sometimes included, with Venice (Italian Venezia), in the Padua-Venice Metropolitan Area, having a population of c. 1,600,000.

Padua stands on the Bacchiglione River, 40 km west of Venice and 29 km southeast of Vicenza. The Brenta River, which once ran through the city, still touches the northern districts. Its agricultural setting is the Pianura Veneta, the "Venetian plain," To the city's south west lies the Euganaean Hills, praised by Lucan and Martial, Petrarch, Ugo Foscolo, and Shelley.

The city is picturesque, with a dense network of arcaded streets opening into large communal piazze, and many bridges crossing the various branches of the Bacchiglione, which once surrounded the ancient walls like a moat.

Padua is the setting for most of the action in Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew.

Prato della Valle is a 90,000 square meter elliptical square in Padova, Italy. It is the largest square in Italy, and one of the largest in Europe. The square today is a monumental space of extraordinary visual impact, with a green island at the center, l'Isola Memmia, surrounded by a small canal bordered by two rings of statues.

帕多瓦（意大利語：Padova），屬於政區威尼托中的一個城市，位於意大利北部，為帕多瓦省的首府以及經濟和交通要衝。帕多瓦的人口為212,500人(2008年)。帕多瓦與威尼斯時常共同被視為帕多瓦-威尼斯大都會區的一部分，共計1,600,000人。 帕多瓦位於巴企吉里翁河上，在威尼斯西方40公里，維琴察東南方29公里。

河谷草地广场（意大利语：Prato della Valle）是意大利北部城市帕多瓦的一个大型广场，面积90,000平方米，这是意大利最大的广场，也是欧洲最大的广场之一。这个巨大的空间给人以强烈的视觉冲击，中间是一个绿色的岛屿，l'Isola Memmia，周围被一条运河环绕，河畔排列着两行雕塑。

在广场的无数雕塑中，有一尊代表威尼斯贵族Andrea Memmo。1775年，Memmo 决定改建当时还只是沼泽地的这一地区。全部工程从未完全完工。

此处曾经被称为“无草之谷”，因为树木妨碍了草的生长。不过今天，此处完全被草坪覆盖，亦有许多小树。

References sources : wikipedia