The city of Mantua originated in Etruscan times: archaeological remains attest to the presence of a “lagoon” settlement within the meandering course of the Mincio River. Legend-recalled by Virgil in the Aeneid-assigns the foundation of the city to Bianore/Ocno, son of the soothsayer Manto (hence the Latin name Mantua) and the god Tiber. According to another theory, Mantua instead draws the origin of its name from Manth, an Etruscan god lord of the dead.
In Roman times, Mantua presented an orthogonal settlement enriched by luxurious domus and surrounded by walls. After the fall of the Roman Empire, Mantua was the scene of barbarian invasions (Goths, Byzantines, Lombards, and Franks) on several occasions. Around the year 1000, it became part of the Canossa possessions for a long time. Boniface III elevated it to capital city: when he was assassinated, he was succeeded by his daughter born in Mantua in 1046, Countess Matilda, a skilled mediator in the struggle between the Empire and the Church. In 1115, the year of the Countess’s death, the city was established as a free commune.
In 1187, Alberto Pitentino, a distinguished hydraulic engineer, planned a colossal regimentation of the Mincio River through dams and embankments. In 1273 the Bonacolsi family ruled the city until the arrival of the Corradi di Gonzaga family (1328). These initiated one of the most famous Seigniories in the Italian Renaissance, inviting to their court the most important artists of the time (Mantegna, Giulio Romano, Alberti, etc).
In 1627 the duchy passed to the French Gonzaga-Nevers; a few years later Mantua was sacked by the Landsknechts, who spread the plague. After years of inadequate policy, the Duchy lapsed in 1707 on the death of Ferdinand Charles, the last heir, and passed to the House of Austria, being united in 1745 with the State of Milan.
In 1815 the Austrians regained possession of Mantua. From this domination arose the liberal uprisings, generalized to all of northern Italy, which resulted in the Risorgimento. Since then the history of Mantua has been linked to that of Italy.
The city itself remains a witness to this long history, and its monuments are its protagonists: the Romanesque Rotonda di S. Lorenzo tells of the Canossa family, while the palaces around Piazza Sordello and Piazza delle Erbe are emblematic of the transition from the communal era to that of the Gonzagas: the Ducal Palace, a city-palace that preserves celebrated masterpieces (Mantegna’s Bridal Chamber, inside the Castle of San Giorgio), the Duomo, Palazzo della Ragione (13th cent.) and Palazzo del Podestà (12th), monumental symbols of the communal city. Also from the Gonzaga period are the Church of St. Andrew, the Temple and Palace of St. Sebastian, the house of Mantegna, and finally the splendid Palazzo Te, “leisure” villa of the Gonzagas.
The peri-urban park-a green lung with bike paths and nature trails-now embraces the city, which seems to float on the lakes, between the Mincio Valleys and the Vallazza nature reserve, anchored to the mainland by the San Giorgio bridge.
Mantua is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, united with the city of Sabbioneta.
Source: Mantua | Mincio Park
