Church of the Eremitani

[1] It is also now notable for being adjacent to the Cappella Scrovegni with Giotto frescoes and the municipal archeology and art gallery: the Musei Civici agli Eremitani, which is housed in the former Augustinian monastery located to the left of the entrance.

The Augustinian hermit friars, precursors of the present Order of Saint Augustine had arrived in Padua in 1237.

Through the patronage of both the wife of the local nobleman Zaccaria dell'Arena and the city, the church was erected between 1260 and 1276 and dedicated to the saints Philip and James.

[4] The church no longer houses the famed Ovetari Chapel frescoes, depicting scenes from the lives of Saints James and Christopher, painted 1448-1457 by the Renaissance painter Mantegna.

The chapel was largely destroyed by a March 1944 aerial bombardment by the Allies in World War II,[5] because it was located next to a German headquarters.