Page 213 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Italy

L OMBARD Y І 211

of 15th-century frescoes by
Pisanello, retelling episodes
from the Arthurian legends;
a large portrait by Rubens
(17th century) of the ducal family
in the Salone degli Arcieri; and –
most absorbing of all – the
frescoes by Mantegna in the
Camera degli Sposi (1465–74).
These portray Lodovico
Gonzaga and members of his
family and court in all their
magnificence (pp8–9). The
entire room is decorated with
images of people, animals and
fantastic landscapes, and
completed by a light-hearted
The ceiling of the Camera degli Sposi, by Mantegna, in the Palazzo Ducale trompe l’oeil ceiling of figures,
putti and a blue sky.
t Mantua (15th century), designed largely
by Leon Battista Alberti, the P Palazzo Tè
* 49,000. V @ n Piazza Andrea
Mantegna 6 (0376 43 24 32). ( Thu. early Renaissance architect and Viale Tè. Tel 0376 32 32 66.
∑ turismo.mantova.it theorist, and now flanked by an Open 1–6pm Mon, 9am–6pm
arcade of shops. The square is Tue–Sun. Closed 1 Jan,
Mantua (Mantova in Italian) is also notable for the 1 May, 25 Dec. & 7
a striking place of fine squares appealing 11th- ∑ palazzote.it
and aristocratic architecture, century Rotonda At the other end
bordered on three sides by lakes di San Lorenzo, of town stands
formed by the River Mincio. and the part-13th- the early 16th-
The climate can be humid as a century Palazzo century Palazzo
result, but the city makes up for della Ragione with Tè, built by Giulio
it with its cultural history: it was its 15th-century Romano for the
the birthplace of the poet Virgil clock tower. Gonzaga family
and the playground of the Detail from the 15th-century clock as a base from
Gonzaga dukes for three P Palazzo tower on Piazza delle Erbe which they could
centuries. It was also the refuge Ducale go horse riding.
where Shakespeare sent Romeo Piazza Sordello 40. Tel 0376 22 48 32. Here the artworks conspire
into exile from Verona, and the Open 8:15am–7:15pm (to 8:15pm Fri) with the architecture to
setting for Verdi’s opera Rigoletto. Tue–Sun. Last adm: 6pm. Closed 1 produce striking effects: in the
These links are all celebrated in Jan, 1 May, 25 Dec. 8 & Camera Sala dei Giganti, for instance,
street names, signposts and degli Sposi: book ahead on Tel 041 the frescoed Titans seem to be
monuments around the town. 241 18 97 or ∑ ducalemantova.org tearing down the very pillars of
The theatrical connections are The vast, 500-room home of the the room. Also remarkable is
enhanced by the 18th-century Gonzaga family covers the the Sala di Amore e Psiche,
Teatro Accademico Bibiena, on northeastern corner of the town decorated with erotic scenes
Via Accademia, which Mozart’s and incorporates Castello San from Apuleius’ Golden Ass and
father claimed was the finest Giorgio (a 14th-century fortress), said to celebrate Federico II’s
he had ever seen. a basilica, and the palace proper. love for his mistress. Other
Mantua is focused on three The many works of art rooms are lavishly painted with
attractive main squares: Piazza include an unfinished series horses and signs of the zodiac.
delle Erbe, Piazza Broletto,
named after the 13th-century
building adorned with a statue
of the poet Virgil, and the
cobbled Piazza Sordello. On one
side of Piazza Sordello is the
Duomo, with an 18th-century
façade and fine interior stuccoes
by Giulio Romano (c.1492–1546);
on another side, the forbidding
façade of the Palazzo Bonacolsi,
with its tall prison tower. Piazza
delle Erbe is dominated by
the Basilica di Sant’Andrea The 13th-century façade of Palazzo Ducale overlooking Piazza Sordello
Late Renaissance fresco, by Romano, in the Duomo di Mantua, Mantua

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