Padova: Palazzo Zuckermann

We were on our way to the Museum of Nature & Humankind when we passed Palazzo Zuckermann and remembered that our ticket to the Musei Civici degli Eremitani, which we visited yesterday, included admission to the palazzo … which is home to two other civic museums.

“Darn,” we said, wanting to go in to check it out. But we had a timed-entry ticket that we needed to honor at another museum just down the street. So, we kept on going … only to find large groups of students waiting to enter the Museum of N&H at their appointed time. Hmmm! A crowded museum? Or a quiet one? No contest. We turned around and walked back to Palazzo Zuckermann.

Commissioned by a wealthy merchant, and built between 1912-1914, this 20th century palazzo was once the city’s main post office building, Today, it houses the Museo di Arti Applicate e Decorativo and the Museo Bottacin.

The Museum of Applied & Decorative Arts exhibits craftworks from medieval times to the late 19th century that are part of the Art Museum’s collection. It includes everything from glassware, to ceramics, silverware, jewelry, textiles, furnishings, and more.

The Bottacin Museum is named for the man who donated his entire collection to the city in 1865. It includes paintings, sculptures, and an extensive numismatic collection … exhibited amongst furnishings reconstructed to mimic those in his villa in Trieste.

Our visit followed the same routine as at other museums. First, together in search of the items highlighted in the brochure/map. Then, on my own for a more leisurely experience after Mui left to return to the apartment. It’s not that he doesn’t care for museums. Rather, we came up with this plan because I tend to stop and go quite a bit as I photograph items that catch my eye … sometimes too many of them 😉.

It was past 4:30p when I left the museum after a very satisfying visit. Most of the time, I was the only one there … which made for a peaceful experience.

A quiet evening at the apartment to wrap up another excellent day of sightseeing. We never did make it out for gelato, so that oversight has yet to be rectified. I’m thinking that we’ll save that treat for after we return to Bologna.

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I was tickled by the anecdotal story of Antonio Canova's bust of "Doge Paolo Renier" (1779). Too long for the caption … so including it here (as written on the sign at the Bottacin Museum:

“The terracotta bust of the Doge of Venice, Paolo Renier, was commissioned to Antonio Canova by the Venetian nobleman Angelo Querini, after he was promised the position of Primicerio of San Marco by the Doge himself.

But when the Doge went back on his word in 1787, Querini placed the bust inside the servants' latrine out of spite. Eventually, Querini's heirs found it broken into pieces in his villa in Altichiero, and later sold it in 1861 to the paduan antiquarian Giuseppe Rizzoli. He had it restored and renovated, and then he sold it to Nicola Bottacin on January 4th 1864 for 500 francs after two years of negotiations.Read more