This is the first part of our trip to Padua: the Gattamelata statue.
After taking a short, 30-minute train to Padua, we walked from the train station to the Santo (short for Basilica of Saint Anthony) and joined a small tour of Donatello’s famous bronze equestrian statue of Gattamelata. The statue is under maintenance and was covered in scaffolding, allowing a look at the statue up close.
Created in 1453 using a lost wax technique, the Gattamelata statue is slightly larger than lifesize. Standing up close to the horse and the portrait gave us a great sense of how big and incredibly detailed Donatello’s work is. Unfortunately, the statue has several small holes all over the horse and the details, originally from Napoleon’s forces who took random shots at it during their invasion of Padua. The statue is also made up of several parts, unfortunately sitting awkwardly together after it was deconstructed and transported to protect it from the Second World War. Because of this damage, the hallow inside of the statue routinely fills with water and dirt when it rains, “rotting” the bronze from the inside.
Please see below some of the pictures we took of the statue!
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