The basilica, thus defined for its typical spatial arrangement of a nave and two aisles, began life in 1716 when the Venetian government bought properties adjacent to Palazzo del Bo to house the Libreria dello Studio di Padova, namely the university library.

Established in 1629 by the University of Padua as a “convenience, decoration and greater embellishment”,  the Libreria dello Studio is one of the oldest libraries in the world. It was initially housed in the Jesuit convent in Pontecorvo, but after a few years it was moved to the prestigious Sala dei Giganti, now part of the Palazzo Liviano complex.

In 1696, however, the director of the library, Girolamo Frigimèlica Roberti, complained of chronic lack of space and after much discussion convinced the Venetian government to buy the buildings south of Palazzo del Bo, offering to adapt them himself. Indeed Frigimelica’s design was inspired by the idea of a basilica floorplan.

The work was never completed, however, and in 1737 the physicist and mathematician Giovanni Polèni took the opportunity to convert part of the unfinished spaces into the Theatrum Philosophiae Experimentàlis, the first experimental physics laboratory dedicated to university teaching.

With the mid-twentieth century renovation works, these spaces were finally reunited entirely as Palazzo del Bo, maintaining the nave-and-two-aisle plan of the original project.

Ponti chose to use an innovative concrete ceiling and to cover the columns with Pompeian red stucco. The furnishings reflect the motifs used in the Circle of Professors.

Pino Casarìni’s frescoes celebrate the university’s political history from 1848 to 1936. The solemn meeting of the academic board is depicted on the west wall and the portrait of the patron, Rector Anti, stands out from the others. Archive documentation reveals that this wall was inspired by Benito Mussolini’s visit to Padua in 1923.