City – Mantova
Historic Mantua is centered around four interconnected squares, Piazza Mantegna, Piazza dell'Erbe, Piazza Broletto and Piazza Sordello. Walking from the station, first you enter Piazza Mantegna. It is a small wedge-shaped square, towered by the façade of the unfinished church of Sant'Andrea. The basilica was commissioned by the architect Alberti Lodovico II Gonzaga, because the medieval church existing at that time did not seem to the proud ruler or sufficiently representative for the needs of his state, nor large enough for hundreds of people, who came to Sant'Andrea every year on the day of the Ascension, to see the holy relic of the blood of Christ found in this place.
The relic is still here, because after many years of discussion about its authenticity (was to be brought to Mantua by a soldier, who pierced Christ's side) Pope Pius II in the fifteenth century ended the dispute with a statement, that thanks to the relic he was miraculously cured of arthritis.
Work on the reconstruction of the church began in 1983 1472. The construction was marked by a sharp reluctance between Alberti and the court architect appointed to oversee his plans., Luca Fancelli. It even got to that, that when, during one of Fancelli's visits, Alberti fell and hit his genitals, Fancelli happily told him, that "God punishes people in the place, in which they sin”. Inside, the church is topped with a huge barrel vault, which is an extension of the façade's triumphal arch and contributes to a cool and balanced atmosphere. There is an octagonal balustrade in the central point of the church, which marks the location of the underground crypt with the relic. Currently, it is kept in two vases, which are copies stolen by the Austrians in the year 1846 Cellini originals (a sacristan should be asked to show them). The church is also decorated with paintings, sketched by Mantegna, and his disciples did (one of them was Correggio). Mantegna himself is buried in one of the chapels of the northern aisle: his bust stands on the tomb, which is said to be his own work.
Opposite Sant'Andrea, slightly below the current level of Piazza dell'Erbe, stands the oldest church in Mantua, 11th-century Rotonda. Somehow it escaped destruction during the reconstruction of the city by Lodovic, but in the 16th century it was partially destroyed during the widening of the courtyards of the neighboring buildings. Rebuilt at the beginning of our century, still has fragments of frescoes from the 12th and 13th centuries. However, they are hard to see, because the rotunda is only open two hours a day, and not always (in low season is constantly closed).
Piazza dell'Erbe is one of the most characteristic squares in Mantua. A small market is held here every day, and in the arcades of the thirteenth-century Palazzo della Ragione there are cafes and restaurants. Dark, covered passage under the medieval, The brick town hall of Broletto leads to Piazza Broletto, on which two objects resembling, how the Gonzaga treated "criminals". Metal hoops are attached under the vault of the bridge on the right, to which prisoners were chained by the wrists, and then pulled up on a wheel and left hanging in the air. However, in the left corner of the square, at the medieval wall of Torre della Gabbia, the cage has survived, in which prisoners were placed, to show them to the people. Piazza Broletto itself is more positive and resembles Mantua's two most famous sons: Virgil, whose monument towers over the square, i Tazio Nuvolone, the most famous Italian rally driver, whose career is devoted to a small museum (Tue-Sun 9.00-12.00 and 15.00-18.00; 1000L).
In your spare time, it is worth walking Via Accademia to the 18th-century Teatro Scientifico, also called from the name of its creator Antonio Bibieny, Bibiena (Mon-Sat. 9.00-12.00 and 15.30-18.00; 300L). It is a theater much smaller than the Bayreuth opera houses designed by the architect's brother, but cozy and sumptuous at the same time. Along the semicircular walls there are rows of boxes, which, according to the designer's intention, were to stand out more, than the actors on the stage. The opening ceremony of the theater was graced by a concert by 13-year-old Mozart. Impression, what he brought out of here, it was not reported by the chroniclers, but his father praised the edifice to the heavens speaking, that he had never seen anything so beautiful in his life. Detailed information on the concerts taking place here today can be obtained from the tourist office or the theater itself.
Behind Piazza Broletto there is a large one, quite bleak Piazza Sordello, in the background rises the baroque facade of the Duomo, and on the sides rows of the gloomy, battlements of palaces, built by Bonalcosi, the Gonzaga predecessors. The cathedral's present lavish décor was designed by Giulio Romano after the fire, who destroyed the interior. The two palaces on the left are now owned by the descendants of a Gonzaga relative, Baldassare Castiglione, which caused outrage at the Mantua court, putting the action of his famous Renaissance textbook savoir vivre, Courtier, at a rival manor house in Urbino. Located opposite the Palazzo del Capitano and Magna Domus, they were taken over by Luigi Gonzaga after he took Mantua from the Bonalcosi family in 1328 Year. This date marked the beginning of three hundred years of Gonzaga reign in the city..