Painted between 1741 and 1746, this work depicts the Prato della Valle in Padua before the interventions of 1775-1776 altered its appearance. The painting is therefore a valuable record of the history of the city.

While several figures populate the vast space, they do not create a sense of movement. Indeed, what brings the square to life is the brightness that pervades it, and the contrast between the dense shadows and the bright light; it is the sky, brightening towards the right, which accentuates the horizontal dimension of the canvas. Buildings on either side of the painting flank the grass-covered square, which is overlooked by the Basilica of Santa Giustina on the left, and the Collegio Universitario on the right.

The painting is an example of Venetian vedutismo (view painting), a genre of which Canaletto was a master. The artist was interested in the accurate representation of reality. To do this, he used a camera obscura which he designed himself. Consisting of a box, the camera obscura was placed in front of the view to be painted. An image of the view was then projected onto a sheet of paper through a system of reflective mirrors and convex lenses. This allowed him to carry out preparatory studies on site, which he then used to make engravings or paintings back in his workshop.