The recently opened Virgil Museum has found life inside the Palazzo del Podestà, an ancient medieval building known as ‘Palazzo Virgilio’ since the 13th century. After restoration work following the 2012 earthquake, designed by architect Italo Rota, the building was reopened with a new museum function dedicated to the Vate. The tour is organized into thematic areas: incipit, Bucolics, Georgics, Aeneid, Legend of Virgil and MyVirgil, an interactive module that through QR Codes allows visitors to build a personal profile related to the poet.
The three main works are revealed through sound and video installations that make the visit engaging.
The Virgil Legend Room is dedicated to the journey of his figure in culture: from prophet or magician to spiritual guide or vate in medieval and modern literature.
The palace itself is a layered architectural object where it is possible to see, within the tour route, recently unearthed valuable frescoes. The building’s connection with Virgil is sealed by a medieval marble statue placed on the facade, whose Latin epigraph embodies the poet’s Mantuan identity.
Children will become active narrators of Virgil’s cultural heritage through their own eyes: of the Bucolics they will tell the value of friendship and living in harmony with nature; of the Georgics the model of a supportive society; and of the Aeneid, finally, the figure of the hero in Aeneas.
