Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
F4
7
Il Cigno
C3
D3
E3
Drinking & Nightlife
E4
Sights
The tight-knit centre of Mantua is like an al fresco architectural museum, the interlocking
piazzas a series of medieval and Renaissance rooms, comprising from north to south:
Piazza Sordello, Piazza Broletto, Piazza delle Erbe and Piazza Mantegna. All four fill
with market stalls at the weekends, and come early evening waves of promenading Man-
tuans ebb and flow between them.
Palazzo Ducale
PALACE
( 0376 22 48 32, bookings 041 241 18 97;
www.mantovaducale.benicultura.it
; Piazza Sordello 40; adult/
reduced €6.50/3.25; 8.15am-7.15pm Tue-Sun)
For more than 300 years the enormous Palazzo
Ducale was the seat of the Gonzaga - a wealthy family who rose to power in the 14th cen-
tury to become one of Italy's leading Renaissance families. At the height of their power,
its 500-plus rooms, three squares and 15 courtyards were adorned with more than 2000
artworks. Sadly the collection was auctioned off by Vicenzo II to Charles I of England in
1627, just prior to the collapse of the family's fortunes in 1630.
The tour of the palace, for which you should budget several hours, takes you through
just 40 of the palace's finest rooms. The biggest draw, however, is the mid-15th-century
fresco by Mantegna, the
Camera degli Sposi
(Bridal Chamber). Executed between 1465 and
1474, the room, which is entirely painted, shows the Marquis, Lodovico, going about his
courtly business with family and courtiers in tow. Most playful of all is the trompe l'œil
oculus which features bare-bottomed
putti
balancing precariously on a painted balcony,
while smirking courtly pranksters appear ready to drop a large potted plant on gawping
tourists below.
