Padova, Pride and the Weight of Hope

On a late afternoon in Padua, the piazzas begin to thin out as the light shifts across the stone. Cafés are closing their shutters, students drift away from the university buildings, and the shadow of the Basilica of Sant’Antonio stretches further across the square. It’s here that photographer Giacomo Noventa talks about the city that has shaped him — and the football club that has been part of his life since childhood.

“My love for Padua comes both from my father and from that sense of belonging to the city as well as to the team,” he says, coffee in hand. “It’s a bond that, for those who support the big clubs, is hard to understand if you don’t actually live there.”

When he speaks about Padova, the local club, there’s a clear pride in its history. The story isn’t built on silverware but on the players who have passed through, names that went on to shape Italian football. “What makes the club unique is its ability, throughout history, to develop talented young players — above all, Alessandro Del Piero,” Noventa explains. “But even without going too far back in time, players like Perin, El Shaarawy, and Darmian all blossomed here. Even Giovanni Leoni came through all the youth ranks in Padua before moving to Parma and later being signed by Liverpool. Thanks to this and much more, it’s a club that has historically played in Italy’s second division, always hoping for an even brighter future.”

Not every part of the story inspires such pride. The stadium, built in 1994, has long been a source of frustration. Its design included an athletics track, leaving supporters separated from the pitch. “Over the years, this caused problems, especially for the fans who demanded a change,” he says. After years of pressure, renovation work began in 2021 to bring the curva closer, but delays and structural problems followed. The disruption pushed ultras to boycott home games altogether. “In fact, last year the supporters decided not to attend any home matches — unlike the away games, where their love has never been lacking.”

Away from football, Noventa talks about Padua itself as though it’s impossible to separate the city from the club. “The city of Padua is one of the most beautiful in Italy, with the Basilica of Sant’Antonio watching over the historic centre and Europe’s largest square, Prato della Valle. For this alone, Padua deserves a visit, but if you add Giotto’s Scrovegni Chapel and all the historic piazzas, you definitely won’t be disappointed.”

His strongest memory as a supporter takes him back to 2011, when Padova came close to promotion to Serie A. For a year, the city dared to dream, only to see those hopes end in the playoff final against Novara. “It was a tremendous disappointment,” he says, “but at the same time, I cherished for a whole year the dream of seeing my hometown club in the top flight — a dream I still hold on to every day.”

The conversation turns quieter as he finishes his coffee. For Noventa, the city and the club are inseparable. Padua is its basilica, its frescoes, its vast piazzas, but it’s also the curve of the stands, the tension of promotion playoffs, the pride in players who grew up here. To love Padua, and Padova, is to accept the frustrations alongside the beauty — because both are part of belonging.