Basilica di Santa Giustina

The basilica's origins trace back to the 5th century, when the first church was built over the tomb of Saint Justina, who, according to legend, was martyred in 304. The tomb chapel of Saint Prosdocimus, Padua's oldest early Christian monument, still survives from this period. A Benedictine monastery was established here in the 10th century. After an earthquake in 1119, the abbey church was rebuilt in Romanesque style between 1119 and 1123 and later expanded. In the 15th century, Santa Giustina was a center of reform within the Benedictine order. The current Renaissance buildings, including five cloisters, replaced the old structures by 1600, incorporating some older elements such as the Cappella San Luca (1301) and the old choir (1462). Under Napoleonic rule, the abbey was suppressed in 1810 and the buildings used as barracks, but it was re-established as a monastery in 1919.

A portion of the buildings continues to house Benedictine monks.