Mantua  

From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia

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1. Province of Lombardy, Italy.
2. City and capital of Mantua.

   —He and I / Will watch thy waking, and that very night / Shall Romeo bear thee hence to Mantua. — Romeo and Juliet, William Shakespeare

Main sights

The Gonzagas protected the arts and culture, and were hosts to several important artists such as Leone Battista Alberti, Andrea Mantegna, Giulio Romano, Donatello, Peter Paul Rubens, Pisanello, Domenico Fetti, Luca Fancelli and Nicolò Sebregondi. Though many of the masterworks have been dispersed, the cultural value of Mantua is nonetheless outstanding, with many of Mantua's patrician and ecclesiastical buildings being uniquely important examples of Italian architecture.

Main landmarks include:

• The Palazzo Te (1525–1535), a creation of Giulio Romano (who lived in Mantua in his final years) in the mature Renaissance style, with some hints of a post-Raphaelian mannerism. It was the summer residential villa of Frederick II of Gonzaga. It hosts the Museo Civico (with the donations of Arnoldo Mondadori, one of the most important Italian publishers, and Ugo Sissa, a Mantuan architect who worked in Iraq from where he brought back important Mesopotamian artworks)
• The Palazzo Ducale, famous residence of the Gonzaga family, made up of a number of buildings, courtyards and gardens gathered around the Palazzo del Capitano, the Magna Domus and the Castle of St. George with the Camera degli Sposi, a room frescoed by Andrea Mantegna.
• The Basilica of Sant'Andrea was begun in 1462 according to designs by Leon Battista Alberti but was finished only in the 18th century when was build the massive dome designed by Filippo Juvarra.
• The Duomo (Cathedral of Saint Peter the Apostle)
• The Rotonda di San Lorenzo
• The Bibiena Theater, also known as the Teatro Scientifico, was made by Antonio Bibiena in 1767-1769. It was opened officially on 3 December 1769 and on 16 January 1770, thirteen-year-old Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart played a concert.
• The church of San Sebastiano
• The Palazzo Vescovile ("Bishops Palace")
• The Palazzo degli Uberti
• The Torre della Gabbia ("Cage Tower")
• The Palazzo del Podestà which hosts the museum of Tazio Nuvolari
• The Palazzo della Ragione with the Torre dell'Orologio ("Clock Tower")
• The Palazzo Castiglioni Bonacolsi
• The Palazzo Valenti Gonzaga, an example of Baroque architecture and decoration, with frescoes attributed to Flemish painter Frans Geffels. The façade of the palace was designed by Nicolò Sebregondi.