Must-see attractions in Mantua

  • Palazzo Ducale

    Mantua

    For more than 300 years the enormous Palazzo Ducale was the seat of the Gonzaga – a family of wealthy horse breeders who rose to power in the 14th century…

  • Palazzo Te

    Mantua

    Palazzo Te was where Frederico II Gonzaga escaped for love trysts with his mistress Isabella Boschetti, and it's decorated in playboy style with stunning…

  • Basilica di Sant'Andrea

    Mantua

    Easily usurping Mantua's cathedral, this towering basilica safeguards the golden vessels said to hold earth soaked by the blood of Christ. Longinus, the…

  • Rotonda di San Lorenzo

    Mantua

    The weather-worn, 11th-century, Lombard Romanesque Rotonda di San Lorenzo is sunk below the level of the square, its red-brick walls still decorated with…

  • Piazza Sordello

    Mantua

    Piazza Sordello is the oldest square in Mantua, and was probably the location of the Etruscan town. The existing layout is thanks to the Gonzagas, whose…

  • Piazza Broletto

    Mantua

    One of half a dozen squares that embellish Mantua's historic centre, the Broletto is home to the Palazzo del Podestà, once home to the city's highest…

  • Teatro Bibiena

    Mantua

    If ever a theatre were set to upstage the actors, it's the 18th-century Teatro Bibiena. Dimly lit and festooned with plush velvet, its highly unusual,…

  • Piazza delle Erbe

    Mantua

    Once the location of the town's vegetable market, Piazza delle Erbe is Mantua's most lively piazza. Its 13th-century Palazzo della Ragione sports a 15th…

  • Cattedrale

    Mantua

    The light, neoclassical Cattedrale pales before the magnificence of the Basilica di Sant’Andrea. The facade was erected in the mid-18th century, while the…

  • Palazzo del Podestà

    Mantua

    This huge, 13th-century palace sits between Piazza delle Erbe and Piazza Broletto and was commissioned by Duke Ludovico Gonzaga. For centuries it served…

  • Torre della Gabbia

    Mantua

    Enter Piazza Sordello from the south and on your left you have the grand house of the Gonzagas' predecessors, the Bonacolsi clan. Hapless prisoners used…

  • Arengario

    Mantua

    This archway built around 1300 links two palaces with a covered walkway above the street. Look up as you pass beneath the arch to see iron rings on which…

  • Palazzo della Ragione

    Mantua

    In the Palazzo della Ragione, which runs the length of the square from the Rotonda, and was once the seat of secular power in the city, you can see…

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