Mantua (part 8 Italy)

Ebimisami: 12.06.2019

Mantua already existed during the Roman and Etruscan times, but experienced a building boom during the Renaissance under the Gonzaga family. They also promoted art in the city, attracting many artists of the time to Mantua. Giuseppe Verdi's opera "Rigoletto" is set at the court of Mantua - which is also commemorated by a "Casa di Rigoletto."


Rigoletto

First, we visited the cathedral, which was rebuilt after a fire in the 14th century. From the side, you can see that a late Gothic facade was added to the medieval facade.


After our drive and visit to the Ferrari Museum in the morning, we sat down at Piazza Sordello in a restaurant and tried a menu of typical local cuisine, including "Tortelli di zucca", pumpkin-filled pasta, and Mantuan risotto.

Piazza Sordello
Piazza Sordello

The Gonzaga family lived in magnificent residences. The Palazzo Ducale is one of the largest building complexes in Europe, which we found quite impressive, as we had never heard of the Gonzagas before.


We bought a combination ticket for the palace because the ticket seller unfortunately could not or would not explain what exactly is included in the regular ticket. As a result, we first visited the much praised "Wedding Room", although we were not as impressed as expected.

Ceiling in the Wedding Room
Ceiling in the Wedding Room

The ticket also included the archaeological museum, which is located in part of the palace. Here, the history of Mantua in ancient times is told.


Unfortunately, the texts were very detailed and we didn't have much time left on our parking ticket, so we only looked at the artifacts and read some passages.
The lovers (Amanti), two embracing skeletons dating back to the Neolithic period, were particularly interesting.


Then we visited the extensive exhibition in the palace rooms of Corte Vecchia and Corte Nuova.


Opulent halls and finely decorated smaller rooms alternated.


The Palazzo Te was the seat of power until the 17th century and was repeatedly renovated.


There were also some artworks, tapestries, and frescoes to see in the rooms.



In addition, there was a modern exhibition that combined the old artworks with photographs featuring interesting representations of human nudity and poses.



After visiting the palace, our parking time was almost up, but we wanted to see a bit more of the old town and continued to Piazza Erbe.



There stands the Rotonda di San Lorenzo, a medieval round church and the oldest in the city. It was temporarily surrounded by residential buildings, making its existence forgotten until it was rediscovered and restored during demolition work.



On our way back to the car, we briefly encountered Dante again, who stood in a square named after him. However, we did not find out what he has to do with Mantua. Another famous poet, Vergil, is from the vicinity of Mantua.



After we reached our car again (and luckily, we didn't get a parking ticket), we drove to Palazzo Te.


Palazzo Te
Palazzo Te


However, as we didn't plan for rush hour traffic, we only made a brief photo stop and then drove to our accommodation at Lake Garda.

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