Mantua Historic Center: Guided Walking Tour with Tiziana Portioli

Highlights

• Tour Highlights
• Expert Guide
• Duration & Flexibility

What's included

Itinerary

1. 1

   Rotonda di San Lorenzo

   5min

   The Rotonda di San Lorenzo is a religious building in Mantua, Lombardy (northern Italy). It is the most ancient church in the city. It is now sunk below the level of the Piazza della Erbe. It probably stands on the site of a Roman temple that was dedicated to the goddess Venus. It was built during the reign of the Canossa family in the late 11th century. Inspired by the Holy Sepulchre church in Jerusalem and dedicated to the martyr St. Lawrence, it has a central plan and has maintained ancient features like the matronaeum (loggia for female faithful) and frescoes of the Byzantine school from the 11th-12th century. Another fresco fragment in the apse, portraying the Martyrdom of St. Lawrence, dates to the 15th century. The construction, according to the Lombard tradition, is in bricks, but has two columns and other details in marble, coming from ancient edifices.

2. 2

   Basilica di Sant'Andrea di Mantova

   20min

   The Basilica of Sant'Andrea is a Roman Catholic co-cathedral and minor basilica in Mantua. It is one of the major works of 15th-century Renaissance architecture in Northern Italy. Commissioned by Ludovico III Gonzaga, the church was begun in 1472 according to designs by Leon Battista Alberti on a site occupied by a Benedictine monastery, of which the bell tower (1414) remains. The building, however, was only finished 328 years later. Though later changes and expansions altered Alberti's design, the church is still considered to be one of Alberti's most complete works. It looms over the Piazza Mantegna.

3. 3

   Duomo - Cattedrale di San Pietro

   20min

   Mantua Cathedral (Italian: Cattedrale di San Pietro apostolo; Duomo di Mantova) in Mantua, is a Roman Catholic cathedral dedicated to Saint Peter. It is the seat of the Bishop of Mantua.

4. 4

   Piazza delle Erbe

   20min

   This is perhaps even more the centre of Mantova than Piazza Sordello. There are a string of small eateries on both sides, including the lovely arcade at the back of the Basilica Sant' Andrea, plus the unusual church, Rotonda di San Lorenzo.

5. 5

   Palazzo Ducale

   20min

   The Palazzo Ducale di Mantova ("Ducal Palace") is a group of buildings in Mantua, built between the 14th and the 17th century mainly by the noble family of Gonzaga as their royal residence in the capital of their Duchy. The buildings are connected by corridors and galleries and are enriched by inner courts and wide gardens. The complex includes some 500 rooms and occupies an area of c. 34,000 m². Although most famous for Mantegna's frescos in the Camera degli Sposi (Wedding Room), they have many other very significant architectural and painted elements. The Gonzaga family lived in the palace from 1328 to 1707, when the dynasty died out. Subsequently, the buildings saw a sharp decline, which was halted in the 20th century with a continuing process of restoration and the designation of the area as museum. In 1998, a hidden room was discovered by Palace scholars, led by musicologist Paula Bezzutti. The room is thought to have been used for performances of Monteverdi's music in the late 16th century.

6. 6

   Piazza Broletto

   5min

   The square, in the municipal era, was the center of public life. On the southern side stands the Palazzo Broletto, built in 1227 by Laudarengo Martinengo, mayor of the city. On the rear facade of the building there is the thirteenth-century statue depicting Virgil in the chair, called in dialect la vecia. On the corner stands the Torre del Broletto (or Torre del Podestà), to which Casa Tortelli is attached. At the center of the square is the 19th century dolphin fountain. On the south side is the Palazzo del Massaro, from the 14th century, inside which there are important frescoes of the fifteenth century from the Pisanello school.

Before you go

Location