28-31 October 2019

Or is it Mantua? Yes, to both.
Mantova is Italian. Mantua is English.

We headline our post with a bit about our extraordinarily lovely Airbnb hosts Giorgia and Andrea. They are a charming couple, warm and funny, and they enjoy meeting people. Ah, to be young and with purpose!

They met us enthusiastically at the apartment, guided us to a parking space, and helped carry our luggage. By the time they left we were so charmed that Robert said, “I feel like I should get them a gift!” Robert saw them the next morning at the nearby cafe when he was having his cappuccino and brioche, so he had a chance to get to know them better. Unfortunately we did not meet baby Alice because she had a slight fever, but we heard a lot about her. When it was time to leave Mantova, they messaged us to say they wanted to come say goodbye. So sweet. We would like to take them home with us.

They offer two apartments through Airbnb. We complimented them on their sense of design. Clean design throughout. Light switches where they should be and in a logical order. Andrea is an architect. Giorgia seems to be the go getter in letting the apartments. She is always busy. Her parents live nearby. Both Giorgio and Andrea were raised in Mantova, although Andrea more in the center of town which he says makes him a stranger to the folks in the neighborhood.

Wanderings

Robert’s cousin Luciana recommended Mantova. With a population of 48,000, it is small, but the downtown is filled with more retail than you might expect. The town is surrounded by three lakes built in the 1200s as a defense against invasion. This makes a dramatic entry as you drive across the long low bridge between two lakes with a picture postcard view of the town ahead. On our first night we took an evening stroll along a lake on our way to the city center. A longer route, but very pleasant. Saw a boat with guys fishing. Joggers too, along with a few romantic couples, including ourselves!

Mantova’s main square is quite large but lacks a sense of urban vitality at this time of year. The museums are quite good. They probably hold the best collection of in situ art we have seen on this trip.

This is the town where Romeo was banished and it is the town closest to the birthplace of Virgil, the most important poet in classical Rome. The Gonzaga family ruled in one way or another for about 300 years. Strategic marriages (one to an eleven-year-old), one family member elevated to a cardinal (they held strong ties to the Vatican), alliances with other powerful empires, and strategic elimination of enemies including a few cousins kept them in power.

We are glad we came. Worth a two- or three-day visit.

Palazzo Te

You learn a lot by visiting museums in Italy. At Palazzo Te they were having an exhibit of the works by Giulio Romano (1499-1546) and his contemporaries. Romano was a star pupil in Rafael’s studio in Rome. He was also an architect and worked on this palace, having been courted by the Gonzagas to leave Rome and work in Mantova.

The exhibit explained that before the reformation, eroticism was very popular in painting. Raphael, among others, was well known in this regards and apparently it was a lucrative subject. After the Reformation, the Church put a stop to erotic art, at least outside the Vatican. But there is always a workaround. Apparently, if the scene was inspired by classical literature, it was acceptable. In fact, a cardinal hired Rafael/Romano to paint erotic classical scenes in his private bathroom in Rome. These scenes— The Sixteen Postures—were copied and engraved and became a best-selling book.

Palazzo Ducale di Mantova

Teatro Bibiena

An academic science lecture hall. Seats about 325. Used for concerts and opera too. Thirteen-year-old Mozart played here shortly after the theater’s opening in 1769.

Basilica Concattedrale di Sant’Andrea Apostolo

Saint Lawrence’s Rotunda

Built around 1100, this church was “buried” by surrounding buildings only to be discovered in 1907 when the comune was demolishing buildings for a new thoroughfare. They abandoned the road construction and restored the church.

Cattedrale di Mantova

Cibo e bibite

Next stop—Spoleto!