In Piazza Eremitani, in Padua, stands the complex of the Civic Museums which includes the Archaeological Museum and the Museum of Medieval and Modern Art. The Museums are housed in the cloisters of the former convent of the Eremitani friars. The complex also includes the Scrovegni Chapel and Zuckermann Palace.

Among the collections of the Museum of Medieval and Modern Art, the painting collection certainly holds a prominent place. The works, coming from religious and civic institutions and private donations, amount to over 3000, including panels by Giorgione and Titian and a wide overview of Venetian painting from the 14th to the 18th century.

The paintings, displayed in the Art Gallery (on the first floor of the Eremitani Museum) and arranged in a chronological path, belong to the most significant artists in the history of Italian art. Noteworthy are the precious cross that Giotto painted in the early 14th century for the famous Scrovegni Chapel, and the panels by Guariento, who was the first painter at the court of the Carraresi and inaugurated the birth of a Paduan school. The Art Gallery also exhibits sculptures from the Middle Ages to Antonio Canova and bronze works created by artists such as Andrea Briosco known as il Riccio and Tiziano Aspetti, while in the smaller cloister, the medieval and modern lapidary is set up.