Mantua is surrounded on three sides by artificial lakes formed by the water of river .
The city was part of when he hears his love, Juliet, has died.
The town was founded presumably around
2000 BC on the banks of the
Mincio river, a sort of island among its waters (and indeed safe natural protection), and in the
6th Century BC was an
Etruscan village which the tradition of that people described as re-founded by
Ocno . The name derives from
Mantus , an Etruscan
God of
Hades . After being conquered by the
Cenomani , a
Gaul tribe, the
Romans conquered it between the first and second
Punic Wars , confusing Mantus with
Manto , a daughter of Tyresia (
Tiresias ). The new settlement was populated with veteran soldiers of
Augustus . The most famous ancient citizen of Mantua is the poet Publius Virgilius Maro,
Virgil (''Mantua me genuit''), who was born near the city in
70 BC .
After the decay of the ).
After the death of Matilde of Canossa, Mantua became a Free Commune, and strenuously defended its freedom against the
Holy Roman Empire in the
12th Century and
13th Centuries . In
1198 Alberto Pitentino optimised the course of the Mincio, creating what Mantuans call "the four lakes", reinforcing its natural protection.
During the struggle between the
Guelphs and the
Ghibellines ,
Pinamonte Bonacolsi took advantage of the chaotic situation to seize power in
1273 . His family ruled Mantua for the next century, making it more prosperous and artistically beautiful. On
August 16 ,
1328 , the last Bonacolsi, Rinaldo, was overthrown in a revolt backed by the Gonzaga, a family of possidents, namely the 60 y.o. Luigi and his sons Guido, Filippino and Feltrino. Luigi
Gonzaga , who had been
Podestà of the city in
1318 , was elected "People's Captain". The Gonzaga built new walls with five gates and renovated the architecture of the city in the
14th Century , but the political situation in the city did not settle until the third Gonzaga,
Ludovico I Of Gonzaga , eliminated his relatives seizing the power for himself.
Through a payment of 120,000 golden florins, in
1433 Gianfrancesco I Of Gonzaga was appointed
Marquis of Mantua by
Emperor Sigismund , whose daughter Barbara of
Brandenburg he married. In
1459 Pope Pius II held in Mantua a great diet to proclaim a crusade against the
Turks . Under
Francesco II Of Gonzaga the famous
Renaissance painter
Andrea Mantegna worked in Mantua as court painter, producing some of his most outstanding works.
First duke of Mantova was
Federico II Of Gonzaga , who acquired the title from
Emperor Charles V in
1530 . Federico commissioned
Giulio Romano the construction of the famous
Palazzo Del Te , in the periphery of the city, and profoundly improved the urbanistic asset of the city. This is what the poet
Torquato Tasso wrote about Mantua in
1586 :
This is a very beautiful city and worthy one move a thousand miles to see it
In
1624 Francesco IV moved the duke's seat to a new residence the
Favorita , designed by the architect
Nicolò Sebregondi .
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In an
Imperial army of 36,000
Landsknecht mercenaries besieged Mantua, bringing the plague with them. Mantua never recovered from this disaster. Duke
Ferdinand , an inept whose only aim was to hold parties and theatrical representations, allied with
France in
Spanish Succession War . After the defeat of the latter, he took refuge in
Venice carrying with him a thousand pictures. At his death, in
1708 , he was declared deposed and his family lost Mantua forever in favour of the
Habsburg s of
Austria .
Under Austrian rule, Mantua enjoyed a revival, and during this period the Royal Academy of Sciences, Letters and Arts, the Scientific Theatre, and numerous Palaces were built.
On
June 4 1796, during the
Napoleonic Wars , Mantua was sieged by Napoleon as a move againts Austria, who joined the
First Coalition . Austrian and Russian attempts to break the siege failed, but spread the French thin enough to abandon the siege on 31 July to fight other battles. The siege resumed on August 24. In early February the city surrended and the region came under French administration.
After the brief French rule, Mantua returned to Austria in
1814 , becoming one of the
Quadrilatero fortress cities in northern Italy. Agitation against Austria cumulated in a revolt from
1851 -
1855 , which was supressed by the Austrian army. One of the most famous episodes of Italian
Risorgimento , took place in the small valley of
Belfiore , when a group of rebels was hung by the Austrians.
In
1866 , Mantua was incorporated in a
United Italy by the king of
Sardinia .
:
The Gonzaga protected art and culture, and hosted several important artists like
Leone Battista Alberti ,
Andrea Mantegna ,
Donatello ,
Luca Fancelli and
Nicolò Sebregondi . Though many of the masterworks have been dispersed, the cultural value of Mantua is anyway outstanding. Many of the monuments are examples of a unique patrimony in patrician buildings and in Italian architecture.
Main monuments include:
- The ( 1525 - 1535 ), a creation of Giulio Romano (who lived in Mantua in his final years) which was meant as the residential villa of Frederick II Of Gonzaga , in the style of mature Renaissance and with some hints of a certain post- Raphaelian Mannerism . It hosts the Museo Civico (with the donations of Arnoldo Mondadori , one of the most important Italian publishers, and Ugo Sissa , a Mantuan architect who worked in Iraq from where he brought back important Mesopotamian artworks)
- The
- The
- The
- The
- The church of
- The '' ("Great House")
- The
- The ("Bishops Palace")
- The
- The
- The
- The
- The
Since
1996 Mantua has hosted the
Festivaletteratura , one of the most renowned literary events in Europe.
Mantua lies across the Milan-
Codogno -
Cremona -Mantova. By car, it can be reached through the A4 (Milan-Venice) Higway to
Verona , and from there Highway A22 (
Brennero -Modena). Otherwise, through the State road 415 (Milan-Cremona) to Cremona, and from there State road 10 (Cremona-Mantova).
The nearest airport is that of
Verona-Villafranca .
