It is hard to say anything original about the magnificence of these frescoes. This serial site is definitely one of the most impressive of its kind. Visiting all of its components is possible on a single Urbs Picta ticket, which is what I did in June of 2022.

Scrovegni Chapel is the headline item and one place that requires advance planning. You have to book a specific 15-minute time slot to visit when you buy your ticket online (you actually end up with a voucher to be exchanged for the actual ticket at the Musei degli Eremitani). The printed ticket somewhat amusingly declares that unless you are at the entrance at least 5 minutes before your scheduled time, you will not be let in. I was there a good 15 minutes before but told the lady at the door that I would sit outside of the glass entry pavilion instead of being inside. It turned out that I had to sit through the introductory movie prior to getting into the chapel. Once a group that was inside the chapel was exiting and the group inside the pavilion was proceeding to the chapel, the next group would be let into the pavilion to see the movie. I was allowed in with the next group and thus remain confused about whether the time slot on my ticket was for the pavilion entry or the actual chapel entry. In any case, the movie may be high on pathos but is actually not too bad, giving you a few pointers on what to look for once you get into the chapel. And upon finally reaching the chapel, I found 15 minutes largely sufficient to enjoy the brilliant Giotto frescoes of Judgement Day and the life of Jesus.

Other places were easier to access. You may have to walk around Palazzo de la Ragione to find the corner with stairs leading up, and for reasons that I do not understand, the lady at the desk printed me an additional entry ticket with €0 on it. The humongous hall is covered with frescoes top to bottom, depicting people, zodiac signs, representations of months of the year, etc. There is also a massive wooden horse and a Foucault pendulum as bonus attractions.

Cathedral Baptistery was undergoing partial renovations, but once I presented my Urbs Picta ticket at the Duomo Museum desk, a lady escorted me through the construction barriers to see the place. In the smaller setting, the brilliant frescoes depicting the life of Jesus are potentially even more wow-inducing than in the bigger Scrovegni.

My next stop was the Chapel of the Cararesi Palace, which is on the upper floor of a research facility, signposted well enough to find. This was one place where wearing a face mask was required. The young woman who saw me enter told me that she did not care to examine my ticket, escorted me to the chapel, and actually proceeded to give me a 5-minute tour. She then left to continue whatever her usual duties were, and I could linger by myself. The frescoes here are older and partially damaged, depicting various scenes from the Old Testament.

At the Oratory of St. George, I had my ticket checked and was then left to my own devices to enjoy the fresco cycles of the lives of St George and St Lucy. They were slightly less vivid than at the Baptistery or the Scrovegni chapel, but the different subjects added to the enjoyment. The man at the ticket desk closed the doors immediately after I stepped out, which was my only indication that some places may not be open throughout the day.

Basilica of St. Anthony can be entered without any ticket. It is a gorgeous grand church with lots of fine features, including great frescoes.

Overall, it took me about 3.5 hours to see all of these from the moment I arrived at the Musei degli Eremitani (which is the entrance point for Scrovegni). I lingered a bit at the museum and then walked at a slow pace between sites. I decided from the outset to skip the Oratory of St.Michael, which is located all by itself a bit out of the way relative to other parts of the inscription. I originally planned to stop by Chiesa degli Eremitani on my way back to the train station, but somewhat inexplicably decided at the last moment to save time in favor of my later plans for the day.

Photography was allowed in all instances.