Palazzo Cavalli alle Porte Contarine

Palazzo Cavalli alle Porte Contarine is a Renaissance palace in Padua located at the intersection of Corso Giuseppe Garibaldi and Via Giacomo Matteotti. The building features multiple interior rooms with elegant fresco decorations and today houses the Museum of Nature and Humankind operated by the University of Padua.

The palace was built in the 1560s for Venetian ambassador Marino Cavalli and became a center of Renaissance life in Padua. The building gained wider attention through a tragic event that occurred in 1585.

The ground floor rooms display frescoes with mythological scenes created by Renaissance artists. The wall paintings tell stories of ancient gods and heroes that visitors can still admire today.

The building is accessible as a museum and allows visitors to explore both artistic and scientific collections. Guests should plan to spend several hours to properly appreciate the interior rooms and their decorations.

A special room displays detailed wall paintings of a deer hunt, offering a naturalistic portrayal of this hunting scene. The staircase meanwhile presents paintings depicting various arts and crafts that symbolically ascend toward the god Apollo.