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55-430: Palazzo del Te , or simply Palazzo Te , is a palace in the suburbs of Mantua , Italy. It is an example of the mannerist style of architecture , and the acknowledged masterpiece of Giulio Romano . The palace is mostly referred to by English-speaking writers, especially art historians, as Palazzo del Te . In Italian, the name is now commonly shortened to Palazzo Te . It was originally named after Il Te ,

110-457: A World Heritage Site . Mantua's historic power and influence under the Gonzaga family between 1328 and 1708 made it one of the main artistic, cultural , and especially musical hubs of Northern Italy and of Italy as a whole. It had one of the most splendid courts of Europe of the fifteenth, sixteenth, and early seventeenth centuries. Mantua is noted for its significant role in the history of opera ;

165-423: A coup d'état on the last Bonacolsi ruler, Rinaldo. Ludovico Gonzaga, who had been Podestà of Mantua since 1318, was duly elected Capitano del popolo . The Gonzagas built new walls with five gates and renovated the city in the 14th century; however, the political situation did not settle until the third ruler of Gonzaga, Ludovico III Gonzaga , who eliminated his relatives and centralised power to himself. During

220-606: A captaincy-general, then margraviate , and finally duchy ). They also ruled Monferrato in Piedmont and Nevers in France , as well as many other lesser fiefs throughout Europe. The family includes a saint , twelve cardinals and fourteen bishops . Two Gonzaga descendants became empresses of the Holy Roman Empire ( Eleonora Gonzaga and Eleonora Gonzaga-Nevers ), and one became Queen of Poland and Grand Duchess of Lithuania in

275-441: A defensive water ring around the city, dried up at the end of the 18th century. The area and its environs are important not only in naturalistic terms, but also anthropologically and historically; research has highlighted a number of human settlements scattered between Barche di Solferino and Bande di Cavriana , Castellaro and Isolone del Mincio. These dated, without interruption, from Neolithic times (5th–4th millennium BC) to

330-650: A minor Gonzaga-Vescovato branch, which is the only remaining existing branch. The House of Gonzaga was an important patron of the arts. This began when Gianfrancesco Gonzaga funded a school led by Vittorino da Feltre where music and art were core subjects along with mathematics, history, Greek and Latin, religion, and philosophy. The music theorist and composer Franchinus Gaffurius was trained at this school. Isabella d'Este , wife of Francesco II Gonzaga, Marquis of Mantua , used her influence to financially support native composers at court (such as Bartolomeo Tromboncino and Marchetto Cara ) which contributed to popularizing

385-424: A palace of leisure. The site chosen was that of the family stables which he had built at Isola del Te , on the edge of the marshes just outside Mantua's city walls, as early as in 1502. Giulio Romano , a pupil of Raphael , was commissioned to design the building. The shell of the palazzo, erected within eighteen months, is basically a square house containing a cloistered courtyard. A formal garden complemented

440-579: A statue at the lakeside park "Piazza Virgiliana". Mantua is surrounded on three sides by artificial lakes , created during the 12th century as the city's defence system. These lakes receive water from the River Mincio , a tributary of the River Po , which descends from Lake Garda . The three lakes are called Lago Superiore , Lago di Mezzo , and Lago Inferiore ("Upper", "Middle", and "Lower" Lakes, respectively). A fourth lake, Lake Pajolo, which once served as

495-581: Is nonetheless outstanding, with many of Mantua's patrician and ecclesiastical buildings being uniquely important examples of Italian architecture. By car, Mantova can be reached on the A4 (Milan-Venice) Highway up to Verona, then the A22 ( Brennero - Modena ) Highway. Alternatively, the city can be reached from Milan on the State Road 415 (Milan-Cremona) to Cremona and from there State Road 10 (Cremona-Mantova), or from Verona on

550-539: Is south of Verona , east of Cremona , north-east of Parma , northwest of Ferrara , and west-southwest of Padua . Mantua was an island settlement which was first established about the year 2000 BC on the banks of River Mincio , which flows from Lake Garda to the Adriatic Sea . In the 6th century BC, Mantua was an Etruscan village which, in the Etruscan tradition, was re-founded by Ocnus . The name may derive from

605-561: The Bronze Age (2nd–1st millennium BC) and the Gallic phases (2nd–1st centuries BC), and ended with Roman residential settlements, which can be traced to the 3rd century AD. In 2017, Legambiente ranked Mantua as the best Italian city for quality of life and environment. Mantua lies in the east of the region of Lombardy , halfway between Milan and Venice , on the River Mincio . It

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660-687: The Frankish Empire . Partitions of the empire (due to the Franks' use of partible inheritance ) in the Treaties of Verdun and Prüm led to Mantua passing to Middle Francia in 843, then the Kingdom of Italy in 855. In 962 Italy was invaded by King Otto I of Germany , and Mantua thus became a vassal of the newly formed Holy Roman Empire . In the 11th century, Mantua became a possession of Boniface of Canossa , marquis of Tuscany . The last ruler of that family

715-685: The Ghibellines , Pinamonte Bonacolsi took advantage of the chaotic situation to seize power of the podesteria in 1273. He was declared the Captain General of the People . The Bonacolsi family ruled Mantua for the next two generations and made it more prosperous and artistically beautiful. On 16 August 1328 Luigi Gonzaga, an official in Bonacolsi's podesteria, and his family staged a public revolt in Mantua and forced

770-567: The Gonzaga-Nevers , a cadet French branch of the family. The War of the Mantuan Succession broke out, and in 1630 an Imperial army of 36,000 mercenaries under Matthias Gallas and Johann von Aldringen besieged and sacked Mantua, bringing the plague with them. Ferdinand Carlo IV , an inept ruler, whose only interest was in holding parties and theatrical shows, allied with France in the War of

825-732: The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth ( Marie Louise Gonzaga ). The first members of the family of historical importance are known to have collaborated with the Guelph faction alongside the monks of the Polirone Abbey . Starting from the 12th century they became a dominant family in Mantua, growing in wealth when their allies, the Bonacolsi , defeated the traditional familiar enemy, the Casalodi. In 1328, however, Ludovico I Gonzaga overthrew

880-544: The Turks . Under Ludovico and his heirs, the famous Renaissance painter Andrea Mantegna worked in Mantua as court painter, producing some of his most outstanding works. The first Duke of Mantua was Federico II Gonzaga , who acquired the title from the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V in 1530. Federico commissioned Giulio Romano to build the famous Palazzo Te , on the periphery of the city, and profoundly improved

935-506: The War of the Mantuan Succession . A further cadet branch was that of Sabbioneta , founded by Gianfrancesco , son of Ludovico III . Marie Louise Gonzaga , daughter of Prince Charles Gonzaga-Nevers , was a queen consort of Poland and grand duchess consort of Lithuania from 1645 to her death in 1667. Two daughters of the house, both named Eleanor Gonzaga, became Holy Roman Empresses , by marrying emperors Ferdinand II of Germany and Ferdinand III, Holy Roman Emperor , respectively. From

990-494: The frottola . Cardinal Ercole Gonzaga founded an ecclesiastical chapel which employed musicians and further advance the musical live of the region through sacred music composition and performance. Guglielmo Gonzaga, Duke of Mantua , himself a gifted composer, founded the Basilica palatina di Santa Barbara (construction began 1562) which became a cultural center for sacred art and music. He also brought several notable composers to

1045-625: The Austrian Duchy of Mantua briefly united with the Duchy of Milan until 1791. On 4 June 1796 during the War of the First Coalition , Mantua was besieged by Napoleon Bonaparte 's French army. The first Austrian attempt to break the siege was successful and the siege was abandoned on 1 August. The Austrian army was defeated at the Battle of Castiglione on 5 August and left the area. The French resumed

1100-609: The Bonacolsi lordship over the city with the help of the Scaliger , and entered the Ghibelline party as capitano del popolo ("people's captain") of Mantua and imperial vicar of Emperor Louis IV . Ludovico was succeeded by Guido (1360–1369) and Ludovico II (1369–1382), while Feltrino , lord of Reggio until 1371, formed the cadet branch of the Gonzaga of Novellara, whose state existed until 1728. Francesco I (1382–1407) abandoned

1155-594: The City Council of Mantua. Voters elect directly 33 councilors and the mayor of Mantua every five years. The current mayor of Mantua is Mattia Palazzi ( PD ), elected on 15 June 2015. Mantua is twinned with: House of Gonzaga The House of Gonzaga ( US : / ɡ ə n ˈ z ɑː ɡ ə , ɡ ɒ n -, - ˈ z æ ɡ -/ , Italian: [ɡonˈdzaːɡa] ) is an Italian princely family that ruled Mantua in Lombardy , northern Italy from 1328 to 1708 (first as

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1210-521: The Etruscan god Mantus . After being conquered by the Cenomani , a Gallic tribe, Mantua was subsequently fought between the first and second Punic wars against the Romans , who attributed its name to Manto , a daughter of Tiresias . This territory was later populated by veteran soldiers of Augustus . Mantua's most famous ancient citizen is the poet Virgil , or Publius Vergilius Maro ( Mantua me genuit ), who

1265-611: The Italian Renaissance, the Gonzaga family softened their despotic rule and further raised the level of culture and refinement in Mantua. Mantua became a significant center of Renaissance art and humanism. Marquis Gianfrancesco Gonzaga had brought Vittorino da Feltre to Mantua in 1423 to open his famous humanist school, the Casa Giocosa. Isabella d'Este , Marchioness of Mantua, married Francesco II Gonzaga, Marquess of Mantua in 1490. When she moved to Mantua from Ferrara (she

1320-829: The Kingdom of Venetia (including the capital city, Venice ). Mantua reconnected with the region of Lombardy and was incorporated into the Kingdom of Italy . During World War II , in November 1943, Nazi Germany relocated the Stalag 337 prisoner-of-war camp from Leśna in German-occupied Poland to Mantua. The camp was dissolved in February 1944, and in April 1944 the Dulag 339 transit camp for British, Italian, American, French, Greek and Yugoslav POWs

1375-676: The Mantua court, including Alessandro Striggio , Giovanni Giacomo Gastoldi , Giaches de Wert , Benedetto Pallavicino and Claudio Monteverdi . Through Monteverdi, the court witnessed some of the first operas ever staged, including L'Orfeo (1607) and L'Arianna (1608). Marco da Gagliano 's La Dafne was staged in 1608. The Gonzaga House also sponsored theatre. The Mantua court staged Giovanni Battista Guarini 's plays Il pastor fido and L'idropica . These plays included incidental music by several different composers, including Monteverdi, Gastoldi, Gagliano, Paolo Birt, and Salamone Rossi . Ferdinando Gonzaga, Duke of Mantua also supported

1430-888: The Spanish Succession . After the French defeat, he took refuge in Venice and carried with him a thousand pictures. At his death in 1708, the Duke of Mantua was declared deposed and his family of Gonzaga lost Mantua forever in favour of the Habsburgs 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. In 1786, ten years before Napoleon Bonaparte 's campaign of Europe,

1485-487: The State Road 62. Mantova railway station , opened in 1873, lies on the train routes of Milan - Codogno - Cremona -Mantua and Verona -Mantua- Modena . The station is a terminus for three regional lines, to Cremona and Milan , to Monselice , and to Verona Porta Nuova and Modena . Trenitalia operates a daily high-speed connection with Rome . The closest airport is Verona-Villafranca Airport. The direct shuttle bus service running to and from Mantova railway station

1540-459: The arts, but financial problems for the court led to a decline in support during his reign. Ferdinando Carlo Gonzaga, Duke of Mantua and Montferrat employed Antonio Caldara as maestro di cappella from 1701-1707. government. The branches of the Gonzaga family, showing marquises and (subsequently) dukes of Mantua in bold , dukes of Nevers and Rethel in italics and the Guastalla line to

1595-504: The city is also known for its architectural treasures and artifacts, elegant palaces, and the medieval and Renaissance cityscape. It is the city where the composer Monteverdi premiered his 1607 opera L'Orfeo and to where Romeo was banished in Shakespeare 's 1597 play Romeo and Juliet . It is the nearest town to the birthplace of the Roman classical poet Virgil , who is commemorated by

1650-406: The city. In the late 16th century, Claudio Monteverdi came to Mantua from his native Cremona. He worked for the court of Vincenzo I Gonzaga , first as a singer and violist, then as music director, marrying the court singer Claudia Cattaneo in 1599. In 1627, the direct line of the Gonzaga family came to an end with the vicious and weak Vincenzo II , and Mantua slowly declined under the new rulers,

1705-563: The course of River Mincio, creating what the Mantuans call "the four lakes" to reinforce the city's natural protection. Three of these lakes still remain today and the fourth one, which ran through the centre of town, was reclaimed during the 18th century. From 1215, the city was ruled under the podesteria of the Guelph poet-statesman Rambertino Buvalelli . During the struggle between the Guelphs and

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1760-469: The courtyard. The facades are not so symmetrical as they appear and the spans between the columns are irregular. The centers of the North and South facades are pierced by two-storey arches without portico or pediment, simply a covered way leading to the interior courtyard. Few windows overlook the inner courtyard (" cortile "); the colonnaded walls are decorated on all sides by deep niches and blind windows, and

1815-754: The family acquired the Marquisate of Montferrat through marriage. Through maternal ancestors, the Gonzagas inherited also the Imperial Byzantine ancestry of the Paleologus , an earlier ruling family of Montferrat . A cadet branch of the Mantua Gonzagas became dukes of Nevers and Rethel in France when Luigi (Louis) Gonzaga, a younger son of Federico II Gonzaga, Duke of Mantua , and Margherita Paleologa , married

1870-430: The frescos. In July 1630, during the War of the Mantuan Succession (1628–31), Mantua and the palace were sacked over three days by an Imperial army of 36,000 Landsknecht mercenaries. The remaining populace fell victim to one of the worst plagues in history that the invaders had brought with them. The Palazzo was looted from top to bottom and remained an empty shell with nymphs, gods, goddesses, and giants adorning

1925-407: The heiress. The Gonzaga-Nevers later came to rule Mantua again when Louis's son Charles (Carlo) inherited Mantua and Montferrat, triggering the War of the Mantuan Succession . Another cadet branch were first sovereign counts, later dukes of Guastalla . They descended from Ferrante , a younger son of Duke Francesco II of Mantua (1484–1519). Ferrante's grandson, Ferrante II , also played a role in

1980-490: The house, enclosed by colonnaded outbuildings ending in a semicircular colonnade known as the Exedra or Esedra . Once the shell of the building was completed, for ten years a team of plasterers, carvers, and fresco painters laboured until barely a surface in any of the loggias or salons remained undecorated. Under Romano's direction, local decorative painters such as Benedetto Pagni and Rinaldo Mantovano worked extensively on

2035-634: The insurrection in the County of Tyrol against Napoleon. After the brief period of French rule, Mantua returned to Austria in 1814, becoming one of the Quadrilatero fortress cities in northern Italy. Under the Congress of Vienna (1815) , Mantua became a province in the Austrian Empire's Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia . Agitation against Austria, however, culminated in a revolt which lasted from 1851 to 1855, but it

2090-593: The intervening surfaces are spattered by spezzato (broken and blemished plaster) giving life and depth to the surfaces. The frescoes are the most remarkable feature of the Palazzo. The subjects range from Olympian banquets in the Sala di Psiche ("Hall of Psyche ") and stylised horses in the Sala dei Cavalli ("Hall of the Horses") to the most unusual of all — giants and grotesques wreaking havoc, fury, and ruin around

2145-572: The latter Empress Eleonora , the current heirs of the Gonzaga descend. Saint Aloysius Gonzaga was a member of a junior branch of this family. The House of Gonzaga is the inspiration for the play-within-the-play in Shakespeare's Hamlet . In Act 3 scene 2, they act out a play called The Murder of Gonzago (or The Mousetrap ). Gonzaga rule continued in Mantua until 1708 and in Guastalla until 1746. Both ruling lines going extinct until passing on to

2200-562: The palazzo is the Casino della Grotta ("Lodge of the Grotto"), a small suite of intimate rooms arranged around a grotto and loggetta (covered balcony) where courtiers once bathed in the small cascade that splashed over the pebbles and shells encrusted in the floor and walls. Part of the Palazzo today houses the Museo Civico del Palazzo Te (Civic Museum of Palazzo del Te), endowed by

2255-533: The publisher Arnoldo Mondadori . It contains a collection of Mesopotamian art. Mantua In 2016, Mantua was designated as the "Italian Capital of Culture". In 2017, it was named as the "European Capital of Gastronomy", included in the Eastern Lombardy District (together with the cities of Bergamo , Brescia , and Cremona ). In 2008, Mantua's centro storico (old town) and the nearby comune of Sabbioneta were declared by UNESCO to be

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2310-539: The siege on August 27 and accepted surrender of the city on 2 February 1797. The city was recaptured by the Austrians in the War of the Second Coalition after a siege lasting from 8 April to 28 July 1799. Later, the city again passed into Napoleon's control and became a part of Napoleon's Kingdom of Italy. In 1810 Andreas Hofer was shot by Porta Giulia, a gate of the town at Borgo di Porto (Cittadella) for leading

2365-447: The suburb where it was built. The toponym is most likely derived from Lombard tejee or tejé , referring to a "linden grove" that once grew in the area, or alternatively from Latin attegia "hut". Art historian Giorgio Vasari spelled the name Palazzo del T , based on the now archaic Italian-language name of the letter T. Palazzo del Te was constructed 1524–34 for Federico II Gonzaga , Marquess of Mantua, as

2420-516: The title of Duke of Mantua. Also the two brothers of Federico II are historical characters of a certain importance: Ercole Gonzaga became a cardinal, presided over the Council of Trent and was almost elected Pope; Ferrante was a faithful ally of the Emperor Charles V who covered him with honors and positions, Ferrante was also the progenitor of the cadet branch of the Gonzaga of Guastalla. In 1531,

2475-530: The traditional alliance with the Visconti of Milan , in order to align their rising power with the Republic of Venice . In 1433, Gianfrancesco I assumed the title of Marquis of Mantua with the recognition of Emperor Sigismund , while obtaining recognition from the local nobility through the marriage of his daughter Margherita to Leonello d'Este, Marquis of Ferrara in 1435. In 1530 Federico II (1500–1540) received

2530-518: The walls of the Sala dei Giganti ("Hall of the Giants"). These magnificent rooms, once furnished to complement the ducal court of the Gonzaga family, saw many of the most illustrious figures of their era entertained, such as the Emperor Charles V , who, when visiting in 1530, elevated his host Federico II of Gonzaga from Marquess to Duke of Mantua. One of the most evocative parts of the lost era of

2585-598: The walls of the empty, echoing rooms. Like the Villa Farnesina in Rome , the suburban location allowed for a mixing of both palace and villa architecture. The four exterior façades have flat pilasters against rusticated walls, the fenestration indicating that the piano nobile is the ground floor, with a secondary floor above. The East façade differs from the other three by having Palladian motifs on its pilaster and an open loggia at its centre rather than an arch to

2640-508: Was a vociferous collector and such was her reputation that Niccolò da Corregio called her 'la prima donna del mondo'. Through a payment of 120,000 golden florins in 1433, Gianfrancesco I was appointed Marquis of Mantua by the Emperor Sigismund , whose niece Barbara of Brandenburg married his son, Ludovico. In 1459, Pope Pius II held the Council of Mantua to proclaim a crusade against

2695-488: Was born in the year 70 BC at a village near the city which is now known as Virgilio. After the fall of the Western Roman Empire at the hands of Odoacer in 476 AD, Mantua was, along with the rest of Italy, conquered by the Ostrogoths . It was retaken by the Eastern Roman Empire in the middle of the 6th century following the Gothic war but was subsequently lost again to the Lombards . They were in turn conquered by Charlemagne in 774, thus incorporating Mantua into

2750-414: Was canceled on 1 January 2015. Public connection is now provided by the airport bus running to and from Verona Porta Nuova railway station, and the Verona-Mantova railway line. Local bus services, urbano (within the city area and suburbs) and interurbano (within the surrounding towns and villages) are provided by APAM. Since local government political reorganization in 1993, Mantua has been governed by

2805-455: Was ceded to France, who transferred Lombardy to Piedmont-Sardinia in return for Nice and Savoy . Mantua, although a constituent province of Lombardy, still remained under the Austrian Empire along with Venetia. In 1866, Prussia-led North German Confederation sided with the newly established, Piedmont-led Kingdom of Italy against the Austrian Empire in the Third Italian War of Independence . The quick defeat of Austria led to its withdrawal of

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2860-419: Was established in its place, and remained operational until April 1945. The Gonzagas protected the arts and culture, and were hosts to several important artists such as Leone Battista Alberti , Andrea Mantegna , Giulio Romano , Donatello , Peter Paul Rubens , Pisanello , Domenico Fetti , Luca Fancelli and Nicolò Sebregondi. Though many of the masterworks have been dispersed, the cultural value of Mantua

2915-432: Was finally suppressed by the Austrian army. One of the most famous episodes of the Italian Risorgimento took place in the valley of the Belfiore, where a group of rebels was hanged by the Austrians. At the Battle of Solferino ( Second Italian War of Independence ) in 1859, the House of Savoy 's Piedmont-Sardinia sided with the French Emperor Napoleon III against the Austrian Empire. Following Austria's defeat, Lombardy

2970-460: Was the countess Matilda of Canossa (d. 1115), who, according to legend, ordered the construction of the precious Rotonda di San Lorenzo (or St. Lawrence's Roundchurch) in 1082. The Rotonda still exists today and was renovated in 2013. After the death of Matilda of Canossa, Mantua became a free commune and strenuously defended itself from the influence of the Holy Roman Empire during the 12th and 13th centuries. In 1198, Alberto Pitentino altered

3025-482: Was the daughter of Duke Ercole the ruler of Ferrara ) she created her famous studiolo firstly in Castello di San Giorgio for which she commissioned paintings from Mantegna , Perugino and Lorenzo Costa . She later moved her studiolo to the Corte Vecchia and commissioned two paintings from Correggio to join the five from Castello di San Giorgio. It was unusual for a woman to have a studiolo in 15th century Italy given they were regarded as masculine spaces. Isabella

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