The fresco cycle in the Arena Chapel painted by Renaissance
artist Giotto is world famous. Enrico Scrovengi was the patron of the Arena
Chapel. Because his father was a banker who made a lot of money and “he took
over his father's lucrative business and had amassed a fortune by lending money
at high rates, a practice that the church and fellow citizens saw as sinful”,
“Enrico had built the chapel thinking it would guarantee him a place in heaven”
and wash away his sins,. Since “Enrico Scrovengi was one of Padua's best known
and wealthiest citizens” , it is likely that he also wanted to build the chapel
to show his wealthiness to public. Another possible reason he built the chapel
may have been for convenience.
