Mantua is a marvellous little city dominated by a monumental castle, dotted with palaces, piazzas and arcades, and surrounded by serene lakes. So it’s hard to imagine how Mantua is something of a ‘hidden gem’, more popular with Italian travellers than foreign visitors. But it is, and that local appeal and everyday life are reasons to include off-the-beaten-track Mantua on your Italy itinerary.
Italy‘s diminutive Mantova – ‘Mantua’ is the anglicised name – must be one of Europe’s most underrated cities. Mantua is less than 40km from Lake Garda and 30km from Verona, yet few foreign travellers include a stay here on their Italian Lakes road trips and Northern Italian itineraries. Those who visit Mantua on a day trip inevitably wish they’d stayed longer.
Mantua’s attractions might be obvious – a monumental castle-cum-palace, sumptuous baroque churches, grand piazzas, and palaces filled with frescoes – yet like Brescia its real appeal is an unassuming elegance, laidback atmosphere and distinct lack of tourists, even at the height of the summer season.
While there’s a postcard stand or two outside the old-fashioned alimentari (grocery shops) on Piazza Sordello, mostly it’s locals heading inside to buy bread and a newspaper, while outside under the Torre Orologio (clock tower) a hole-in-the-wall vending machine dispenses ‘latte fresco di giornata’ (fresh milk daily).
Mantova’s locals ride bicycles around the largely pedestrianised streets of the centro storico (historic town centre), and linger at alfresco cafés at umbrella-shaded tables set up on the pavements, separated by potted oleander bushes.
Like Brescia, Mantova is multicultural, with a sizeable foreign population of workers, which give this very Italian city a cosmopolitan vibe, and it’s not unusual to see immigrants lined up at the government offices sorting their new lives out.
Yet it’s this local atmosphere and everyday-ness that gives Mantua an authenticity that’s hard to find elsewhere in the region. That, combined with the history and beauty of the city, is what makes Mantova so alluring.
This Mantua guide is part of a series of posts on Europe, starting with Italy, a country where we spent a lot of time over the years, for pleasure and work, researching, writing and photographing Italy travel guidebooks. Mantua was one of our favourite little cities and these are Mantua’s must-visit sights.
Mantua is a Must for a Monumental Castle, Palaces, Piazzas and Arcades
Mantua must be one of the most magnificently located cities in Italy. Mantua’s walled city dominates its small peninsula, with water on three sides. The Mincio River was formed into three manmade lakes in the 12th century, for defensive purposes: Lago Inferiore, Lago di Mezzo and Lago Superiore.
Mantua’s lakes are a blessing and curse for locals, bringing fresh fish to Mantua’s restaurant tables all year, but in summer swarms of mosquitoes into homes. Like Venice and other cities of the low Po plains, Mantua get swelteringly hot in summer.
But when there’s a breeze blowing across the lakes into Mantua’s arcades and squares on a balmy evening, there are few more pleasant places in Italy to be.
Things to See and Do in Mantua
These are the must-visit sights and things to do in Mantua that we love.
Mantova’s Many Piazzas
Mantova is a city of handsome squares, all interconnecting making it easy to explore. The spacious cobblestone Piazza Sordello is Mantova’s main square, presided over by the big baroque Duomo at its northern end and the enormous Palazzo Ducale and its lovely arcades and gardens sprawled on the eastern side.
There are several palazzi, including a striking crenellated red-brick façade, on the western side of Piazza Sordello and several pleasant alfresco cafés here too. (See our guide to where to stay, eat and drink in Mantua for tips to where to sip and eat.)
A passageway takes you beneath the brick Broletto and the lofty medieval tower, the Torre della Gabbia, into tiny Piazza Broletto, which in turn takes you along a laneway lined on both sides by breezy arcades with elegant shops and cafés tucked beneath them to the next square.
On Piazza delle Erbe you’ll find the elegant 13th-century Palazzo della Ragione (with wonderful frescoes inside in the upper chamber) and a beautiful 15th-century Torre dell’Orologio (clocktower) with a golden zodiac on its inner ‘dial’ and faded frescoes on the outer circle.
There are several good restaurants under the arcades that neatly spread their tables out on the piazza in warmer weather, while on Thursday mornings there’s a busy market here. The piazza is also home to the Rotonda di San Lorenzo. Opposite is the tourist office.
Piazza Erbe joins tiny Piazza Mantegna, dominated by the enormous Basilica di San Andrea, which leads to a lovely cobblestone street lined with pavement cafés and smart shops to Piazza Marconi, then to Corso Umberto and the busy transport hub of Piazza Cavallotti, where you’ll find the Neo-classical Teatro Sociale.
Castello di San Giorgio and Palazzo Ducale
Mantova’s main attraction is its monumental castle on Piazza Sordello, which is the only sight that many visitors to the city see. It’s actually a complex of several majestic buildings: the Castle of St. George, Palazzo del Capitano and Magna Domus, which were seized from the ruling Bonacolsi in 1328 by Luigi Gonzaga at the start of the dynasty’s 300-year rule.
Once Europe’s largest royal residence, at the height of its power over a thousand people lived and worked here in its 500 rooms, and when the Austrians looted the place in 1630 it’s said they used 80 carriages to cart off all the riches including 2,000 paintings.
While the complex is crammed with room after room of Renaissance treasures, most people make a beeline for the beautifully restored frescoes of the Gonzaga family painted by Andrea Mantegna from 1465-74 in the Camera degli Sposi (‘the bedroom of the wedded couple’).
The frescoes are absolutely stunning. Considered one of Mantegna’s greatest works, they contain all the attributes that made the artist great, from the three-dimensional quality to the exquisite attention to detail. Keep in mind it could easily take you a couple of hours to get there if you stop and spend time in each of the splendid rooms on your way.
There are around 40 rooms open in total to see, and if you’re a fan of castles you could easily spend the good part of a day here. During winter when there are few visitors, you’re required to do a guided tour (times posted outside), but the rest of the year you have a choice between doing a guided tour, self-guided visit, or an audio guide.
Numbers are restricted to 20 people at 10-minute intervals for the Camera degli Sposi, so book ahead if visiting during spring and autumn/fall. Also worth viewing are the splendid frescoed ‘summer rooms’ of Isabella d’Este, which can be seen by anyone but only by appointment on weekends.
Duomo di Mantova
Piazza Sordello’s other standout is its striking 14th-century Duomo di Mantova or Cattedrale San Pietro. Even travellers who have been in Italy a while and are bored with churches inevitably find themselves drawn inside Mantua’s intriguing Duomo, eager to see what the interior of such an unusual cathedral might look like because the exterior is certainly uncommon.
The red-brick Romanesque body with its minaret-like towers boasts an austere white late Baroque façade with restrained ornamentation and statues of saints on top, while the light-filled interior is richly decorated with fluted columns that hold up elaborately gilded ceilings and a beautiful frescoed cupola.
Rotunda San Lorenzo
Located on Piazza Erbe, Mantua’s oldest church, dating to 1082, was presumed to have been ‘lost’ until the little round red-brick structure was ‘discovered’ in 1908 when the buildings surrounding it were destroyed.
Like the Old Duomo in Brescia it is sunken beneath piazza level, has bare brick walls, and there is a separate women’s prayer gallery, as women were forbidden from entering the main part of the church in those days. There are also some lovely faded medieval frescoes.
Palazzo Te
On Mantua’s Viale Te, the sumptuous Renaissance-Mannerist Palazzo Te was designed by the celebrated architect-artist Giulio Romano who spent 10 years decorating it from 1525-1535 for Frederico II Gonzaga.
It was designed as a romantic retreat-cum-pleasure dome for Frederico and his lover Isabella Boschetti – which explains the exuberant décor and erotic frescoes features scenes of bacchanalian excess. It just goes to show what’s possible when artistic imaginations are allowed to run wild!
Mantua’s Renaissance Woman: Isabella d’Este
Isabella d’Este (1474–1539) was one of the most famous and fascinating women of the Renaissance. Born in Ferrara, she was the first daughter of Ercole I d’Este and married Francesco Gonzaga, the Marquis of Mantova, at age 16.
A precocious young lady, she danced, sang, played musical instruments and was one of the most fashionable women of her time – painted by da Vinci, Titian and Mantegna. Under her patronage Mantova became a centre of art and culture in the region and Isabella was a keen collector of art and antiques.
However, Isabella’s skill set was found to be even broader when her husband was captured in Venice in 1509 and held hostage. Isabella successfully ran Mantua, including their military forces, until her husband returned in 1512.
Somewhat chastened that his wife had upstaged him, Francesco was happy to let her travel as she pleased, as travel was one of her great loves. When Francesco died in 1519, she once again assumed the reigns of the city, proving herself an astute politician – until her son was old enough to rule.
While Isabella was a groundbreaking woman of her time, perhaps a little sibling rivalry contributed to her ambition and capability. Her equally beautiful and talented sister, Beatrice d’Este, became the Duchess of Milan, having married Ludovico Sforza, and became one of the great patrons of the arts.
Tips to Arriving in Mantua – Have Your Camera Ready!
If you’re arriving in Mantua from Padova or Ferrara on Via Legnago, prepare to grab your camera. Mantua is breathtakingly beautiful from this approach, its muscular castle appearing to float on water.
If you’re driving from Lago di Garda, Brescia or Verona, the easiest access to the city is on Via Mulini but it’s worth going the extra distance and taking the Mantova Nord exit from the A22 simply to enjoy the jaw-dropping views of the city.
While there’s plenty of parking all over Mantua, there’s nowhere to pull over as you come across the causeway between Lago Inferiore and Lago di Mezzo, so have your camera ready and slow down.
Travel Tips to Getting to and Around Cities in Europe
- Travelling in Europe in summer can be chaotic, so as soon as you book your flights, buy travel insurance so you’re covered in case of flight cancellations, missed connections and lost luggage
- For moving between many cities, either rent a car and do a road trip especially if the route between cities is scenic, to use the generally excellent European trains which will always be our preference over planes.
- For getting to islands, either ferry or low-cost flights are your best bet.
- We recommend Klook for buying European train tickets, ferry tickets, bus tickets, and flights.
- Keep in mind that during the European summer accommodation can be booked out months in advance, so book accommodation as soon as you book flights. Grand hotels and B&Bs can be atmospheric but if you’re staying for more than a few days consider holiday rentals, whether apartment rentals or beach houses.
- We like both Klook (link above) and Get Your Guide for booking local tours and hiring guides, as well as tickets to attractions, after-hours museum tickets, cruises, and so on.
