This extraordinary city, founded perhaps by the Etruscans, was then
romanized (Vergil was born in nearby Andes) and finally, after a period as a
commune, became a fief of the Bonacolsi and then of the Gonzagas
(1328-1707), who made it the splendid capital of their principality. The
River Mincio closes it on three sides in the form of a lake, and to those
approaching it from the north, the city presents a striking skyline of
towers.
We enter by Porta Molina, turn down Via Trento, where the handsome Palazzo
Cavriani may be seen, cross Piazza Virgiliana and, passing alongside the
tall Torre della Gabbia, come into Piazza Sordello, an impressive medieval
square with the two battlemented palaces, Palazzo Bonacolsi and Palazzo del
Capitano, which constitute the old wing of the palatial residence of the
Gonzagas, the largest group of buildings in Italy (365.000 sq. ft., with 450
rooms) after the Vatican.
The Palace, plundered many, times in the past, was restored to its original
splendor in the present century.
It contains an excellent Archaeological
Museum and a painting gallery with works by Pisanello, Tintoretto, El Greco,
Rubens, and Van Dvck.
But to be admired most of all is the astonishing
succession of rooms, the alternating vast and tiny courtyards, the
labyrinthine passageways, the sumptuous galleries and the refinement of the
decoration - in short, the elegant setting which still tells us so much
about the magnificence of this court, where the first opera in the history
of music was conceived and written by Claudio Monteverdi.
The Camera degli Sposi, decorated by Andrea Mantegna, makes of this palace one of the
sanctuaries of Italian painting.
Behind the palace stands the Castle of S. Giorgio (14th century), later
incorporated into it.
After taking a walk round the Castle, we come back
into Piazza Sordello, near the 18th century Cathedral and Bishop's Palace,
from which we carry on into the square where the ancient Broletto stands (in
a niche, a 13 century statue of Vergil), and then into Piazza delle Erbe,
with the Palazzo delta Ragione and the Rotondo di S. Lorenzo (ca. 1000), the
oldest building in the city.
In the nearby Basilica di S. Andrea, designed by L. Battista Alberti (1472),
we will find a beautiful Madonna by Lorenzo Costa, two paintings by Mantegna
and the Painter's Tomb.
By taking Via Roma and Via Chiassi, we come into Via
Prima, where, after the church of San Barnaba, we come upon the Palazzo di
Giustizia (formerly Cofloredo, a distinguished 16th century building.
Then we find the House of Giulio Romano: the masterpiece of this artist, both as an architect
and a painter, is, in Mantua, the Palazzo del Te (reached by taking Via
Acerbi), an imposing princely villa, perhaps the most beautiful pleasure
house of the High Renaissance.
From here we turn towards Viale Risorgimento and Corso Garibaldi, where we
find the charming 15th century facade of S. Maria del Gradaro.
Down Via Trieste we come to the picturesque Rio, which we cross; in Via Pomponazzi
stands the important Palazzo Sordl not far from which is the Accademia
Virgiliana with an 18th century Theatre designed by Bibiena.
Palazzo Te - Photo © 
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