Abbey of Santa Giustina

History

A church dedicated to Saint Justina of Padua and other 4th-century Christian martyrs of Padua, was present at the site by the 520s, erected under the patronage of the Prefect Opilius and housing the relics of the saint. The church was already described as lavish in decoration in the 565 biography "Life of St Martin", written by Venantius Fortunatus. By the 10th century, monks ministered to pilgrims who came to the basilica to venerate the saints' relics. In 971, the Bishop of Padua placed the community under the Rule of St. Benedict.

Renovations were soon begun on the basilica. On 2 August 1052, workers putatively exhumed remains of various saints, including Maximus the Confessor, Felicitas of Padua, Julian the Hospitaller, and even some identified as the Holy Innocents. In 1110 the abbey was sacked by the troops of the future Holy Roman Emperor Henry V during his invasion of Lombardy, in order to punish the monks for their loyalty to Pope Pascal II. In 1117, the complex was devastated by the powerful Verona earthquake. After the basilica and monastery were rebuilt, excavations resumed and in 1174 the remains of the patroness of the abbey were discovered, and in 1177, some remains attributed to St Luke the Evangelist.

A period of decline in the observance of its way of life began to develop in the monastic community. At the same time, the monks were led by a number of very spiritual abbots, such as Arnaldo of Limena, who died while imprisoned by Ezzelino III da Romano and is honored as "Blessed", as is Nicholas of Prussia. By the 1370s the community had declined to three monks.

The abbey, however, reached the height of its influence under the leadership of Ludovico Barbo, who, despite being a canon regular and not a monk, was appointed as abbot by the bishop in order to undertake a reform of the monastic life in the abbey. He was successful and the abbey became the nucleus of the Congregation of Santa Giustina, which spread to include monasteries throughout Europe who came under the guidance of the Abbot of Santa Giustina. The abbey developed ties with centers of learning across the continent. In 1504 the Abbey of Monte Cassino was made subject to Santa Giustina in Padua, and together they became known as the Cassinese Congregation. …

Interior

The church has a layout of a Latin cross with the main axis from east to west. At 118.5 metres (389 ft) long and 82 metres (269 ft) wide, the Basilica of Santa Giustina is the seventh largest in Italy. The facade is enhanced by expanse of the Prato della Valle, which it overlooks.

There are three main chapels. The presbytery with the choir, and the two chapels for saints Luke and Matthew that form the transepts. Each has a semicircular apse and are flanked by two chapels. Each aisle has six smaller chapels, square plan. The 26 pillars supporting the roof domes, each dome is set directly on the barrel vaults. The central bays are covered by eight domes covered with lead: the central one, with the lantern, is almost 70 metres (230 ft) high and is topped by a statue of copper depicting Santa Giustina, about 5 metres (16 ft) high.

The floor of the basilica was laid between 1608 and 1615 on geometric design, with yellow, white and red marble. There are many pieces of Greek marble, from the Basilica Opilionea.

Capella di San Giacomo

The first chapel is dedicated to Saint James the Less. The altar is in polychrome stones in the style of the Corbarelli family of the seventeenth century. The white marble altarpiece shows an oil on canvas by Carlo Caliari: Martyrdom of Saint James.

Capella di San Gregorio Magno

The second chapel is dedicated to Pope Gregory I. The 19th-century altar is mainly built with African green marble and Carrara white marble, framing a polychrome stone marquetry; The stonework was performed by the Corbarelli family. The altarpiece is an 18th-century oil on canvas depicting Pope Gregory I invokes the aid of the Virgin to end the plague in Rome by Sebastiano Ricci. Ricci's work replaced an initial painting by Carlo Cignani.

Cappella di san Daniele Levita

The third chapel is dedicated to Daniel of Padua. The altar is characterized by the use of red marble from France and the marbles of Carrara and Padua; the altarpiece depicts the Martyrdom of St Daniel (1677) by Antonio Zanchi. The altar is the work of the brothers Corbarelli.

Cappella di san Placido …