A palace shaped city
This happy description of Baldassare Castiglioni gives you a first idea of the glamour and the suggestions, Mantua is capable of. Tiny and well shaped, Mantua is above all an original miscellaneous of history and art. The city presents itself as a chest of art treasures, which famous worldwide names were able to fill with precious masterpieces: Mantegna, Pisanello, Giulio Romano, Leon Battista Alberti and a lot of other artists and painters and forced its cultural dignity. All of them left an unforgettable trace, which today can be admired by its visitors.

An ancient city, that has its origins in the Etruscan period, Mantua achieved its glamour in the communal period and above all in the long domination of the Gonzaga lordship (1328-1707). The communal and short period of the Bonacolsi lordship leads back to some of the most important buildings such as Palazzo Bonacolsi, Palazzo del Podesta, the Palazzo della Ragione, Palazzo Te and the churches of San Lorenzo and of Gradaro. Symbol of the Gonzaga lordship is the Palazzo Ducale, which is one of the most huge and elaborated royal palaces in Italy and which contains approximately 500 halls and rooms with several courtyards, parks and squares.