A fairly early start, with a few people deciding to stay in bed and enjoy a lie-in (yes, we know who you are!)...we began our visit in the 13th century church of the Eremitani, the local Augustines, who had a chapel sponsored by the Ovetari family who paid the 17 year old Andrea Mantegna to decorate it. Inspired by Donatello's work in the nearby Basilica of Sant'Antonio. Sadly the chapel took a direct hit from Allied bombing in WWII but enough has been preserved to get a sense of what might have been.
Next up was the sensational Arena chapel, decorated over 630 days (or giornate) by Giotto and his team, commissioned by Enrico Scrovegni in 1302, then a quick drop in to Palazzo del Bo, one of the very oldest universities in Europe, lunch and then on to the Santo where we got a really privileged visit to admire the stunning bronze reliefs and sculpture by Donatello on the high altar
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