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Things to see -
What to see in Mantua
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Mantua?s
centre of interlinking cobbled squares retains its medieval
aspect.The
marvellous
Palazzo
Ducale
is indeed one of the best monuments of the city built in between
the XIV and XVII century.
Also known
as Reggia dei Gonzaga after the rulers of Mantua, it is
situated on the northeaster corner of the city. A city in the
shape of a palace, the visitor feels like transported in another
city and in another time, as far as the interiors contains three
squares, fifteen courtyards, a park, and 500 rooms.
The most
ancient parts of the palace, built in the XIV century, are the
Castello di San Giorgio, overflowing with artworks
collected by the Gonzaga and erected by Bartolino da Novara, a
rinomated military architect; the Palazzo del Capitano
built by Captain Guido Buonacolosi whose family has ruled Mantua
for some time during 1271 and 1328 and where is the Room of
Guastalla with frescos of the Gonzaga family.
The
masterpiece of the Palace is the room Camera degli Sposi
by Andrea Mantegna, who executed splendid frescos between 1465
and 1474 and is situated in one of the castle towers.
The Palace
chapel is called the Church of Santa Barbara designed by
Bertani in the XVI century, while the Room of Metamorphoses
and the Loggia Eleonora where painted by architect Viani
around XVI and XVII.
The
Duchesses? Staircase (Scalone delle Duchesse), built in the
XVII century, leads to the Morone?s room which portray
the ?Ousting of the Bonacolosi?.
Among the
many other rooms, worth visiting are the Sala del Pisanello
of decorated by Antonio Pisano with unfinished frescos of
Arthurian legend, the Sala di Troia, the Zodiac?s Room
with frescos of the zodiac and the great Room of the Archers
(Sala degli Arcieri) once housing the apartment of Duke Vincenzo,
and famous for a altarpiece by Rubens (1605), portraying
the Gonzaga family in adoration of the Holy Trinity.
Also very
worth to see are the XVIII century Sala dei Fiumi of the
Habsburg era decorated with artificial grottoes covered in
shells and mosaics. The Galleria Nuova, a corridor built
in the 1778 by Piermarini, and the Mirror Gallery
(Galleria degli Specchi), built as an open loggia with frescos
in its vault by Reni?s students.
Another
magnificent palace is the Palazzo del Te from the Romano
(a pupil of Raphael),
on the fringe
of the marches just outside Mantua's city walls. Basically a
square house, it was built around a cloistered courtyard.
In
Renaissance and post Raphaelian styles, it is a combination of
steamy erotica and illusionistic fantasy.
It hosts
the Museo Civico which contains a collection of Mesopotamian?s
arts.
With many
beautiful rooms, it has in Camera dei Giganti one of the
most fantastic frescos of the Renaissance depicting the
destruction of Jupiter over the Titans.
The
Basilica di Sant?Andrea, a Renaissance building with a
baroque cupola, emerges above the city. It was inspired by the
Alberti, but it was built after his death and completed after
three century.
The crypt
of the church safeguards a much disputed relic, a golden vessel
holding the ?Preziosissimo Sangue di Cristo? (the Highly
Precious Blood of Christ), brought to Mantua by Longinus, the
Roman soldier who speared Christ on the cross. After years of
dispute about its authenticity Pope Pius II settled the matter
in the XV century by declaring it had miraculously cured him of
gout. Another chapel houses the tomb of the great painter
Mantegna.
South of
the Basilica, across XV century colonnaded Piazza delle Erbe,
is the Rotonda di San
Lorenzo, a magnificent XII century Romanesque round building
believed to stand on the site of a Roman Temple dedicated to
Venus.
Other
buildings worth seen are the Duomo Cathedral of Piazza Sordello
with a XVIII century fa?de and the Palazzo Broletto in which
fa?de there is a figure saying to represent the poet Virgilio
with its Piazza Broletto, the city?s symbol, also known as
?Vecia Mantua?.
Near to
Piazza Brodello is the Torre della Gabbia (Cage Tower), an
antique prison, and Casa Rigoletto, used by Verdi for most of
his operas.
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