Mantua has been picked as Italian culture capital in 2016. The Lombard city was the erstwhile princely seat of the House of Gonzaga from the 14th to the 18th centuries, and its historic center was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2007.
Mantua was shortlisted along with nine other candidates out of 24 aspiring culture capitals by the culture ministry in June. The selection comes with one million euros from the culture ministry to finance its winning project with no strings attached – meaning that the city can spend the money without incurring sanctions under an economic stability pact with the national government.
Mantua won with a project to remake itself into a smart city with digital tourism to set off its jewels. Among these is the landmark Palazzo Te, a Mannerist pleasure palace built in 1524-34 for Federico II Gonzaga. It is the masterpiece of architect Giulio Romano, a pupil of Raphael, who over ten years directed a team of plasterers, carvers and fresco painters to decorate almost every single surface of the palace’s many loggias and salons. The frescoes remain the most remarkable feature of the palace, with subjects ranging from Olympian banquets in the Sala di Psiche (Psyche’s Hall) and stylised horses in the Sala dei Cavalli (the Hall of the Horses) to the most unusual of all – giants and grotesques wreaking havoc, fury and ruin around the walls of the Sala dei Giganti (the Hall of Giants).
Donate