Date

Circa 1910

The abbey and the basilica of Santa Giustina became, in the 15th century, one of the most important monasteries in the area. It houses several saint's tombs. The complex was founded in the 5th century on the tomb of the namesake saint, Justine of Padua. 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. As governor of Padua (1775-1776), Memmo initiated a series of projects for the urban reorganization of the city and for the functional and spatial redesign of its public buildings. Most importantly, he was responsible for the creation of the great Prato della Valle, a new monumental centre for fairs and commerce, which was also built by Cerato. This involved draining a vast uncultivated marshy area by digging an elliptical ditch crossed by four bridges, and adorned with 88 statues of famous men, including one of Giovanni Poleni (limestone, 1779-1780; Padua, Mus. Civ.) by Antonio Canova.