Unique, Hidden "Gems"
by deecat
The great thing about Mantova (Mantua) is that if you just walk, you will discover many hidden "gems" such as the one in the picture of the grotesque fountain.
What a "hoot" When we stumbled upon it, we could not believe that the water was coming out of the nostrils. The reason that I even noticed this clever fountain was because a local girl was filling up a jug with the water from this fountain, and I glanced at her and then the source of the water. "For heaven's sake", I thought.
Funny, but it is these small, insignificant moments that I remember.
It's a flat fountain against a wall of a tower. Other such fountains abound in the city as well as statues, unusual balconies, and wonderful heavy wooden doors. It's just a joy to discover some new "item" each day. Walking in this town of culture, art, history, and architure is a delightful activity. You just never know what you are going to find next.
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Palazzo Ducale
by croisbeauty
The huge complex, called the Palazzo Ducale or the Palazzo Gonzaga, consists of a series of buildings dating to different periods, which were joine togehter in the course of the 13th to 17th centuries. The complex includes 15 enclosed open spaces and over 500 rooms, many not open to the public. Some of the wings are semi-abandoned or in restoration.
Duomo: Cathedral of San Pietro
by deecat
The Duomo or Cathedral of San Pietro is pre 11th Century, but today's facade dates to 1756. It's made in Carrara marble by a Roman architect in a style which combined the Neoclassic purism with the Mannerist and the Baroque.
This church has been rebuilt more than once. Gothic chapels still remain on the right flank while the bell tower is Romanesque. The inside was completely redone after a fire in 1545. It is a Latin-cross basilica. The dome fresco is of the "Glory of Paradise" and next to the altar, on the left, is the "Vision of Saint John Evangelist".
The adjacent Sacristy, initially was part of the larger chapel. It has vine tendrils and medallions of the school of Mantegna which refer to the "Mysteries of the Virgin" on the ceiling.
There is a house behind the cathedral which belongs to the Canons, where Rigoletto (on whom Verdi based his opera) is said to have lived. There is also a statue of him in the courtyard.
The Heart of Lombardy
by Tom_Fields
"Mantova"
Mantova, or Mantua, dates back to very ancient times. Legend has it that the Etruscans founded it. During Roman times, it was an agricultural center. The Franks, Goths, and Lombards invaded this area toward the end of the Romand period.
Mantova eventually became a free town. The Gonzaga family took control in 1328, and transformed it from a medieval town to a Renaissance town. They also made it one of the wealthiest, most powerful Italian city-states.
In 1707, the Austrians took control. Napoleon made Mantova part of the short-lived Cisalpine Republic. Then the city became independent again, until Italian unification in the 1870s.
Mantova still retains the basic layout and appearance of the Renaissance, with the art and architecture that the Gonzaga dynasty brought to it.
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On the left, the Rotunda of St Lawrence
Piazza behind San Pietro church
Me at Duomo di San Pietro
Piazza Sordello, Mantova, Italy
