Padova is my city, so my judgement is surely cloud by pride and attachment. However, I think that Padova is the Italian city where it's the most worth visiting the inside of buildings. If you just walk through the historical center you will find a charming and historical centre, but it won't be that much different from other former Venetian cities. Visiting churches and palaces, with their frescoes, is the real deal to see the beauty of Padova. In this sense, this WHS is a huge help to assist a tourist that wants to see the main frescoes landmarks. After some years from WHS declaration, I had the chance to visit all (expect one) sites in the city and I found overall good organization and easy access (which I was surprised about, especially for lesser sites). Padova also hosts another WHS (The Orto Botanico), and I think that there might be room for a third (something about the "Science City", with Anatomical Theatre, Specola Tower, Galileo's rooms, Il Bo), since these landmarks are thematically separated from each other: a "historical center" WHS wouldn't work.

As others wrote in this review's section, if Padova were in another country it would be a top touristic destination, something like Krakow.