PADUA, Diocese of. - City and diocese of the Veneto, suffragan of the patriarchate of Venice. It has an area of 2,929 sq km with a population of 839,024 inhabitants, of whom 837,015 are Catholics; it has 406 parishes served by 916 diocesan priests and 190 regulars; 30 male religious communities and 328 female ones (Ann. Pont., 1952, p. 302).
The city is washed by the Brenta and the Bacchiglione and by intersecting canals that make the soil fertile and, especially in the past, provided ease of communication and defense. According to legend it was founded by the Illyrian Veneti under the leadership of Antenor after the destruction of Troy; in any case its great antiquity cannot be denied. The Illyrians subjugated the Euganei, who were forced to take refuge among the mountains, and brought the city to wealth through trade on the Adriatic, so much so that Mela could number P. among the urbes opulentissimae; it aided Rome in the struggle against the Celts and in 49 B.C. became a municipium, assigned to the Fabia tribe. Its territory, which to the east reached the sea, extended to the hills of Este (Montes Euganei), to Monte Venda (territory of Lonigo and Teolo), to the territory of Vicenza (as far as ten miles); its boundaries toward Altino are uncertain. In 69 A.D. it still appears in its splendor, but then for two centuries it is barely mentioned. Of classical monuments, besides numerous inscriptions, only the ruins of the Arena remain (Pauly-Wissowa, XVIII, IV, col. 2114 ff.). To P. belongs the glory of having given Rome its greatest historian, Livy.
The history of Christianity at P. opens with the martyr St. Justina, venerated on October 7 and buried in the immediate suburb of the city; she was honored from antiquity, but the Passio concerning her is not reliable; just as nothing can be gleaned from the legend of St. Prosdocimus (v.), who would have been the first bishop of P. The first certain bishop is a Crispinus mentioned by St. Athanasius in 356 as active even before 345. Venantius Fortunatus (MGH, Script. antiquiss., IV, 1, p. 369) recalls at P. his friend John who with his sons took delight in poetry; but of the bishops a certain Bergullus is remembered at the Synod of Grado in 579, then an Ursinianus in 680 in connection with the Monothelites. A Tricidius is remembered in an epitaph of uncertain date, perhaps of the 8th century; a Dominic at the Synod of Mantua of 827. As can be seen, the reliable information for the Church of P. is quite scanty in these centuries. This is certainly due to the profound decline into which, like the other neighboring cities, P. also fell following the Lombard invasion. It was burned and razed to the ground by Agilulf in 601 after tenacious resistance (Paul the Deacon, Hist. Langob., IV, 23) and the inhabitants sought, perhaps, temporary refuge at Malamocco; nevertheless it slowly recovered, especially beginning with the favors bestowed by the Carolingian sovereigns. A deed of donation by Louis II in 835 to Bishop Rorigo recalls previous concessions by Charlemagne and Lothair. The growth was greater under the Italic sovereigns: Berengar I donated to the Paduan see the court of Sacco «de camera palatii nostri» in the county of Treviso on May 5, 897; after the Hungarian invasions, on March 25, 912, he confirmed to Bishop Silicone the privileges lost through fires and granted him permission to erect castles; from 915 dates the concession of Solana on the Brenta; on April 20, 918 another confirmation and provisions concerning the canons. A new confirmation by Rudolf II in 924; in 926-31 another by King Hugh; on May 25, 942 that of Kings Hugh and Lothair. The Saxon sovereigns, following their policy, were no less generous: Otto I with Bishop Gauslinus in 964 and Otto III with Bishop Orso in 998; then Conrad II in 1027. Privileges were granted by Henry III (1049) and repeatedly by Henry IV until 1079. It is no wonder, therefore, that Bishop Milo followed the party of the latter to the point of subscribing at Bressanone in 1080 to the deposition of Gregory VII. His successor Peter also sided with the antipope Clement III; he was therefore deposed by Paschal II at Guastalla in October 1106, and replaced by the Catholic Sinibaldus. Thus the Gregorian reform triumphed; however, not all difficulties were overcome, if Bishop Bellinus fell slain in the Polesine on November 26, 1147 in defense of the rights of his Church, later venerated as a saint. John de Cacio who succeeded him was present at Pavia in 1160 with Barbarossa, from whom he also received a diploma and recognized the antipope Victor IV; but only briefly, because P. already in 1163 entered the Veneto-Veronese League and then that of 1167 against Barbarossa. From him Bishop Gerard obtained a diploma in 1177, and the city wide favor at the Diet of Constance in 1183. This did not prevent it in 1195 from participating once again in the Lombard League and then again in 1226 when it was placed under the imperial ban by Frederick II. The Commune had by now established itself over the ephemeral episcopal government; in 1138 it had its consuls and was in a position to influence the neighboring cities of Vicenza, Bassano, Feltre, to enter into conflict with Venice (1214) and to play an important part in the disputes with Treviso, the Principality of Aquileia, Verona and the Este.
It was therefore at a moment of great economic prosperity that the preaching of St. Anthony (d. 1231) took place, with immense resonance in the spiritual life of the time, and that of John of Vicenza (or of Schio), a Dominican, directed at bringing peace to the ever-resurging discords in the region, in which P. had its share of responsibility. This movement culminated in the great assembly of Paquara near Verona (August 28, 1233); which, however, did not produce lasting results.
With the predominance of Frederick II's policy in the Veneto, the power of Ezzelino III da Romano also asserted itself, who, having seized P. on February 25, 1237, held the city under a very harsh dominion, targeting in particular the secular and regular clergy, until June 1256 when he was driven out. The lords of Carrara soon took an important part in the government of the Commune, especially in confronting the ambitions of the Scaligeri who from Verona aimed to subjugate P.; indeed Can Grande succeeded in making himself lord of it in September 1328 and then only in August 1337 did P. free itself from Scaliger lordship. Thus the power of the Carraresi revived with the resumption of attempts to profit from the discords of Venice and Friuli to expand their dominion, soon opposed by the astute policy of Gian Galeazzo Visconti and of Venice itself. After the death of the Visconti (1402), Francesco II of Carrara succeeded in making himself lord also of Verona (1404-1405), but could not resist Venice which, having taken him prisoner with his sons Francesco and Giacomo, sent all three to their deaths (January 1406). P. thus came under the dominion of Venice, and, except for a brief period during the war of 1509-11, remained there until the fall of the Republic. As for the bishopric, in this age it was conferred almost exclusively on members of the most illustrious Venetian families; among them may be remembered Pietro Barocci (1481-1507) for his virtues and for having opposed the Averroism prevailing in the University; Nicolò Ormaneto of Verona (1570-1577), a true reforming spirit who opened the Seminary in 1571 and died as nuncio in Spain; the blessed Gregorio Barbarigo (v.); Cardinal Carlo Rezzonico (1743-67) who rebuilt almost entirely the Seminary and was then pope under the name Clement XIII; Francesco Scipione Dondi dell'Orologio (1807-October 6, 1819), a critic and illustrator of the records of the Paduan bishopric; Cardinal Giuseppe Callegari (v.).
(phot. Biblioteca Capitolare)
PADUA, DIOCESE of - Statutes of the Rural Commune of Pernumia
(codex late 14th cent.: Dr. P. Sambin has its edition ready) - Padua,
Biblioteca Capitolare.
The Cathedral, dedicated to St. Mary and St. Justina within the city, destroyed by the earthquake of 1117, was served by a Chapter endowed with extensive properties and episcopal, papal or sovereign privileges, which observed the common life there until around the end of the 13th century. Cardinal Francesco Pisani undertook its reconstruction in 1524, so that nothing ancient remained of it but the baptistery. Of the more ancient churches of P. there remains only that of S. Sofia in Romanesque style, which was even wrongly held to be the primitive Cathedral and was the seat of a collegiate church. Under papal protection lived the collegiate churches of the two most illustrious centers of the diocese, S. Giustina of Monselice and S. Tecla of Este.
Monastic life greatly increased in the diocese. The most illustrious monastery was the Benedictine one near the church of S. Giustina, in the immediate suburb. Its earliest origins are unknown; Bishop Rorigo made it a donation in 874; destroyed by the Hungarians in the invasion of 899, it was restored by Bishop Gausalino, who granted a very extensive privilege in 970, and it was protected by his successors; papal privileges were not lacking either. It had passed into commendam when in 1409 the abbot Lodovico Barbo (v.) laid there the beginnings of the Congregation of S. Giustina, later called Cassinese. In 1498 the reconstruction of the ancient church was resolved upon and was carried forward throughout the whole 16th century, through the work of various architects, until it was consecrated on 14 March 1606 (cf. R. Pepi, in La Badia di S. Giustina, cenni, Padua 1943, p. 96 ff.). Alongside the church, the reconstruction of the grandiose monastery also proceeded; from it the monks were expelled a first time in 1797 and then on 31 May 1810; the great church then became a parish church and the monastery was put to military use. Monastic life was restored in 1943, with monks coming from the abbey of Praglia.
The second great Benedictine monastery is that of S. Maria di Praglia, on the Euganean hills, founded around 1080 by Count Maltraverso of Montebello and his family on their own property and subjected to the Apostolic See with a tribute of two gold pieces. Bishop Sinibaldo subjected it in 1124 to the abbot of S. Benedetto in Polirone, maintaining the census to the Holy See. Reduced to commendam in 1389, the abbey was united to the Congregation of S. Giustina in 1448. Suppressed by the Italian laws in 1806, it came to life again in 1904 through the work of the Sublacense Congregation.
Also the monastery of S. Croce di Campese, founded by the Cluniac abbot Ponzio in 1124, passed in 1127 under the government of the abbey of Polirone and paid the annual census to the Apostolic See.
Dependent on the abbey of S. Zeno of Verona was the monastery of Sts. Mary and Thomas of Sacco, recorded as early as the 9th century. On S. Pietro of Modena depended that of S. Michele di Candiana, founded in 1097 by Cono di Calzone and passed from the Benedictines to the Canons of S. Salvatore of Bologna in 1450.
Under episcopal jurisdiction were the Benedictine monasteries of S. Daniele in Monte near Abano (charter of 8 March 1134) and of S. Maria di Saccolongo (charter of 15 Nov. 1147), of S. Stefano di Carrara, founded perhaps in 1027 by Litolfo di Carrara under the patronage of that family, and the two women's monasteries of S. Pietro in the city, destroyed by the Hungarians and re-established by Bishop Orso, and that of S. Stefano outside P., united in 1459 with that of S. Maria di Festumbia, which lasted until 1810.
The Canons Regular of Porto had the monastery of S. Maria delle Carceri near Este, recorded in 1107 and largely favored by the marquises of Este; the church was consecrated by Godofredo, patriarch of Aquileia, on 27 March 1189; it passed in 1408 to the Camaldolese, was given in commendam in 1494 and suppressed in 1690. S. Maria di Ispida (Lispida) was also a Canonica Regolare, but it was subject to various vicissitudes.
The Friars Minor had the convent of S. Maria Mater Domini when, after the canonization of St. Anthony (1232), driven by the piety of the Paduans and guided by the blessed Luca Belludi, who had been the Saint's closest confidant, they began the great Basilica, in which, on the Romanesque-Gothic scheme, they grafted the Byzantine domes on the model of those of S. Marco and the minaret-like bell tower in the Eastern manner. In 1263 they were able solemnly to place there the relics of the Saint; but the church went on being adorned little by little with Gothic arks, Donatellesque bronzes, Lombardesque sculptures, paintings of every age; the Baroque too made a splendid appearance there in the chamber for the custody of the relics. Beside it grew up the great convent, soon rich in an important archive and library. The ardor of pilgrimages only increased with the centuries. Following the Lateran Pacts, the basilica of the Santo with the convent passed under the jurisdiction of the Holy See, and the Conventual Friars Minor have its government. On the forecourt of the Santo the Venetian lordship had Donatello erect the monument to the condottiere Erasmo Gattamelata da Narni, later a model for many others in Italy. The Dominicans, shortly after the death of the founder, already held the church of S. Agostino; the Hermits of St. Augustine settled at the Arena, where Andrea Mantegna covered their church with frescoes, as Giotto had previously done nearby in the chapel of Enrico degli Scrovegni; both the one and the other held a school of theology there.
The first origin of the University of Padua is traced back to 1222, following the turmoils that agitated Bologna and provoked an exodus of masters and scholars. These were welcomed by Bishop Giordano; but schools already existed at Padua. A Collegium iuristarum of doctors and a Universitas iuristarum of cisalpine and transalpine students were formed, who elected their own rectors and also their masters. Then the Universitas iuristarum was added with its masters of arts and medicine. It stood under the supervision of the bishop, who as chancellor conferred the doctorate. Urban IV on 2 Jan. 1264 confirmed its statutes and privileges. Urban V on 15 Apr. 1363 also established there the Faculty of theology with its Universitas, its dean and a college of doctors. Special colleges were founded there for poor students. In 1493 the University had its own seat in the Hospitium Bovis and in those years made itself famous as a stronghold of Aristotelianism and Averroism, with Pietro Pomponazzi through to Cesare Cremonino; Galileo taught there from 1592 to 1608. Meanwhile, after the disorders of 1516, Venice supervised the Institute through the "reformers of the Studio," to whom was also entrusted the approval for the printing of books. It enjoyed great prestige during the 16th century, when men of government, cardinals, ecclesiastics, jurists and philosophers of worth, Italian and foreign, turned to it; P. had even then a botanical garden. More than for the flowering of 16th-century dialect comedy, whose principal representative was Giovan Francesco Beolco, called Ruzzante, P. had a particular importance in the cultural life of the 18th century for the development of historical-philological studies, which had their center in the Seminary established by Barbarigo and had their most illustrious representatives in Italy: Facciolati (v.), E. Forcellini (v.), G. Costa, translator of Pindar, Prosdocimo Zabeo, through to Giuseppe Furlanetto, scholar (d. 1848), and Sebastiano Melan (d. 1847).
The Museo civico, alongside the monuments, also houses an important library and an archive into which those of the suppressed institutes have flowed. Of great importance furthermore are the Libraries of the Seminary, of the basilica of S. Antonio, of the University, and the Archives of the Curia, of the Episcopal Mensa and of the Cathedral Chapter.
Painting had at P. a moment of powerful originality and splendor in the 15th century with Francesco Squarcione and particularly with Andrea Mantegna (v.); but in painting and sculpture it was tributary to the Venetian school in the following centuries.
A monument of particular grandeur from the thirteenth century is the Palazzo pubblico, called della Ragione, which arose in the 13th century. - See plates XXXV-XXXVI.
Bibliography12 works
Pio Paschini