Surroundings of Mantua: Sabbionet
There is little to see in the close vicinity of Mantua, and the landscape is almost all the time flat and monotonous. One of the few attractions is grazie, a ten-minute bus ride west., with the Church of Santa Maria delle Grazie. The interior of the church is full of unusual votive offerings. In the niches there are wax and wooden mannequins petrified as a result of the passage of time, they are surrounded by wooden hearts, Breast, hands and feet, which were placed here by miraculously healed faithful, and a stuffed crocodile hangs from the ceiling. The path near the church leads towards the swamps, inhabited by rare species of birds and animals. It is possible to take a closer look at them, but then you have to book a boat the day before (•0376/653735 or 0376/31156).
Further from Mantua is the more interesting SABBIONETA. It is small, peculiar town, whose magnificent Renaissance palaces pile up lifeless over the deserted, dirty squares and give it the atmosphere of a film set abandoned by the actors. Built as an ideal city by a member of the side branch of the Mantua rulers, Vespasiano Gonzagę, Sabbionet was abandoned by everyone today, except for its oldest inhabitants, the few farm laborers and tourism office workers.
Even in the period, when the town was built, it was an anachronism. In the 16th century, there was only a small agricultural village here, nominal capital of a meaningless state on the border of Mantua, which fought for its independence with the foreign powers already occupying most of Lombardy. Not put off by this, Prince Vespasiano reigning there, driven by obsession, he wanted to create an ideal city modeled on ancient Athens and Rome. He forbade his subjects to cultivate the land, forced them to build, and then to an apartment in a new city, where the Greek and Roman Academies were located, theater in the style of the architect of Vicenza, Palladia, and two princely residences. After Vespasian's death, Sabbioneta returned to its former state and has been a small agricultural village ever since., similar to hundreds of others in Italy.
Any of the buildings can only be visited in a group with a guide. Groups are organized by the AAST office, Via Gonzaga 31 (at the main square and bus stop; 9.30-12.00 and 14.30-17.30). The tour begins in the private residence of Vespasiana, Palazzo del Giardino, decorated with models of civilized behavior, depicted in frescoes (from Roman emperors to the Three Graces). Then you go to the Teatro Olimpico, modelled on the Palladia Theatre in Vicenza. (even the name is the same), in which the only spectators are pale marble gods, emperors of false bronze and ghost-like, painted courtiers. Located around the corner, Palazzo Ducale has a wooden, painted statues of the four Gonzagas, of which Vespasiano (in the collar and with a beard), who proudly sit on horseback. Other symbols of strength have also been preserved from the decoration of the palace, elephants on frescoes and eagles and lions on friezes. The nearby Chiesa dcirincoronata is distinguished mainly by its illusionist roof, which seems three times the size on the inside, than from outside the church. The character of the Vespasian describes it well, whose bronze figure sits next to him in the costume of a Roman emperor and clearly does not want to leave his dream city.