By Ines Keane
Rooms are the easy part. More than 500, says the national tourism board. Mantua, in south-eastern Lombardy, is a small city with a very large palace, and UNESCO lists it together with its neighbour Sabbioneta.
The water
Italia.it, the national tourism board’s site, says Mantua stands on the banks of three basins fed by the river Mincio. We give no history for the water.
The Gonzaga
Italia.it says the Gonzaga family shaped both Mantua and its neighbour Sabbioneta, and ruled Mantua for almost four centuries, until 1707.
The palace
The Palazzo Ducale is a complex of buildings, not one. Italia.it says it has more than 500 rooms and covers more than 35,000 square metres.
The room everyone names is in the castle. Italia.it calls it the Bridal Chamber and says Andrea Mantegna frescoed it between 1465 and 1474.
Palazzo Te and a clock tower
Italia.it says Federico II Gonzaga commissioned Palazzo Te from Giulio Romano in 1525, and singles out its Hall of Cupid and Psyche.
Sabbioneta
UNESCO inscribed Mantua and Sabbioneta together in 2008 as a serial property: two Renaissance towns linked by the Gonzaga. UNESCO says they are about 30 kilometres apart and that Sabbioneta was created in the second half of the sixteenth century as a single-period town on a right-angle grid. Italia.it gives 1556 for the founding of Sabbioneta by Vespasiano I Gonzaga.
In December
The city’s events page lists a family procession called Aspettando Santa Lucia, in which walkers follow a little donkey and deliver messages of peace gathered from children and adults. Dates change each year, so the Comune di Mantova’s listing is the place to check.
Dates in order
- 1525: Palazzo Te commissioned, according to Italia.it.
- 1556: Sabbioneta founded, according to Italia.it.
- 2008: the UNESCO listing, according to UNESCO.
Side by side
The sources split on the size of the palace (34,000 or more than 35,000 square metres), on the dates of the Bridal Chamber, and on how far apart the two towns are. Our reading: the numbers move because each writer counts a different edge of a sprawling complex. That is our inference and none of the sources says it.
What kind of sources these are
UNESCO’s listing, the national tourism board and the city’s events page. We read no museum page, so we give no hours or entry details.
What we left out
We left out visitor numbers, the religious objects in the basilicas, prices and transport. We give no history for the lakes.
Quick answers
Is Mantua a UNESCO site? Yes. According to UNESCO, Mantua and Sabbioneta were inscribed together in 2008 as two Renaissance towns linked by the Gonzaga family.
How many rooms does the Palazzo Ducale have? According to Italia.it, the national tourism board, more than 500.
Who painted the Bridal Chamber? According to Italia.it, Andrea Mantegna, between 1465 and 1474.
Related on this site: cotechino-zampone-modena-igp-new-year, modica-chocolate-igp-cold-process, borsalino-hat-alessandria-felt
Roam first. Shop later.