Prato della Valle site features

The statue ring

78 statues, arranged in a double ring around the central island's canal, depict historical figures with a connection to Padua -- largely scholars, jurists, and clergy associated with the city and its university rather than military or political rulers.

Isola Memmia and its canal

The elliptical central island is bordered by a narrow canal crossed by four small bridges, each aligned with one of the square's cardinal access points -- the canal and statues together give the square its distinctive ringed shape when viewed from above.