The Basilica of Saint Anthony, known in Padua simply as il Santo ('the Saint'), is the huge brick church with a cluster of domes and slender, minaret-like bell towers on the south side of the old centre. It was begun around 1232, a year after the Franciscan friar Anthony died here, and pilgrims still queue to lay a hand on his tomb. In a chapel behind the high altar you can see the relic that surprises most visitors: the saint's tongue.
The Basilica of Saint Anthony at a glance
- Where: Piazza del Santo, in the south of the historic centre, a few minutes' walk from Prato della Valle and the Botanical Garden.
- Built: from around 1232 to about 1310, with chapels, altars and decoration added over the following centuries.
- What it is today: a working church run by Franciscan friars, a papal minor basilica and one of the great pilgrimage shrines of Italy.
- Time needed: 45 minutes to an hour for the church, more if you add the cloisters and the square outside.
From a friar's grave to a pilgrims' church
Anthony was born in Lisbon in the 1190s, joined the Franciscans and became famous across Italy and southern France as a preacher. He spent his last years in Padua and died on 13 June 1231 at Arcella, just north of the city. Pope Gregory IX declared him a saint less than a year later, one of the fastest canonisations in the history of the Church. He was first buried in the small church of Santa Maria Mater Domini, which the new basilica swallowed up.
Building went on for most of a century, and it shows: a brick façade in the Romanesque tradition, a Gothic interior and domes inspired by St Mark's in Venice. The saint's body has rested in its own chapel since 1350. In the 1440s Donatello came to Padua to make the bronzes of the high altar and the horseman in the square, and from 1691 Filippo Parodi built the Baroque Treasury Chapel for the relics. In 2021 the frescoes of two of the basilica's chapels became part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site covering Padua's 14th-century fresco cycles.
What to look for
- The Chapel of the Arca, halfway down the left aisle: pilgrims walk behind the altar to touch the marble of the saint's tomb, often with a hand flat on the stone, and leave photographs and notes of thanks nearby.
- The marble reliefs on the walls of the same chapel, showing Anthony's miracles. They were carved in the 16th century by sculptors including Tullio Lombardo and Jacopo Sansovino.
- Donatello's bronzes on the high altar: a Madonna and Child, statues of saints and reliefs of the saint's miracles, packed with crowds of tiny figures.
- The Treasury Chapel, the Baroque rotunda at the far end behind the choir, where gold reliquaries hold the saint's tongue and chin.
- The Chapel of St James (San Giacomo) on the right side, painted with frescoes in the late 14th century and part of the UNESCO site.
The tongue that did not decay
Tradition says that when Anthony's tomb was opened in 1263, more than 30 years after his death, his body had turned to dust but his tongue was found intact. Bonaventure, then head of the Franciscan order, is said to have taken it in his hands and praised the tongue that had always blessed God. For the faithful it was a sign for a saint known above all as a preacher. Anthony is also the saint people pray to when they have lost something, and you will see visitors here asking for help with far more than lost keys.
Tips for your visit
- This is a working shrine with services through the day. Cover shoulders and knees, keep your voice down and do not walk through the tomb chapel during a Mass.
- Photography is not allowed inside the church. Take your pictures of the domes and towers from the square, where the late afternoon light warms the brick.
- On 13 June, the feast of St Anthony, the city fills with pilgrims and a procession carries the saint's relics through the streets. Come on another day if you want a quiet visit.
- Leave time for the cloisters on the right side of the church, especially the Cloister of the Magnolia with its large old tree.
Nearby
- Gattamelata: Donatello's bronze horseman in the square in front of the basilica, made in the 1440s and 1450s for the Venetian commander Erasmo da Narni, often described as the first large bronze equestrian statue since antiquity.
- Oratory of St George: the small chapel on the edge of the square, its walls covered with frescoes by Altichiero, also part of the UNESCO site.
- Scuola del Santo: next to the oratory, an upstairs hall painted with Anthony's miracles, including three frescoes by the young Titian from 1511.
- Prato della Valle: the huge oval square with its ring of statues around a green island, a few minutes' walk south.
See Padua with World City Trail
Our Padua scavenger hunt turns the old town into a game you play on your phone. The route links 10 stops and takes around 2 hours, with about 42 minutes of walking. It includes the Scrovegni Chapel, with Giotto's frescoes, and Piazza Garibaldi.
If you prefer a different format, there is also a self-guided walking tour and an outdoor escape game in Padua.
Play the Padua scavenger hunt →
Take the self-guided walking tour of Padua →
Play the outdoor escape game in Padua →
Facts checked in October 2026.