Those who travel to Mantua by car, should definitely take the SS10 from the east. The first view of the city “skyline” is overwhelming. From this perspective, the buildings are perfectly arranged: the Palazzo Ducale, the Castello San Giogio and the church towers. The city is surrounded on three sides by artificial lakes, which formerly served as a defence system and now contribute to the special flair of the city.

We enjoyed it a lot to stroll through the historic centre. The main sights are located on three contiguous squares. The main square, the Piazza Sordello, is dominated by the Palazzo Ducale, a huge complex, which consists of several buildings with courtyards, gardens and connecting corridors. It is virtually a small city in itself. Parts of the palace can be visited, the most impressive room is the Camera degli Sposi with frescoes by Andrea Mantegna. Another highlight was the Basilica Sant'Andrea. We were extremely impressed, although the interior was under renovation and the nave was partially hidden by scaffolding (our visit was in August 2011). In the transept and the apse the restoration was already completed, so we could see the effects of the restoration in comparison to the parts not yet renewed. It will look magnificient when everything is finished.

We spent two hot summer days and nights in Mantua. The restaurants and cafés were full with tourists and locals until late in the evening, it was very atmospheric. Exactly what you would expect from the summer in an Italian city. For dinner, we followed the recommendation of our hotel manager and went to the Osteria ai Ranari, a restaurant off the beaten track. Apart from us there were only locals, usually a good sign. We tasted local specialities: ragout of horsemeat and tortelli filled with pumpkin (tasted a bit sweet), both were delicious.

Mantua was founded by the Etruscans and reached its heyday during the reign of the Gonzaga family, who ruled the city from the 14th to the 17th Century. In contrast, Sabbioneta is a planned ideal city built by a member of the Gonzaga family in the 16th Century. The city is located about 30 km from Mantua at the road to Parma. Sabbioneta has a completely preserved city wall and in this respect is comparable with Neuf-Brisach (Vauban WHS) or Palmanova (Italian T-list). Sabbioneta is less striking than Mantua and Sabbioneta alone would probably not have been included in the list. With a combined ticket you can visit four buildings: the Palazzo Ducale, the Synagogue, the Teatro Olimpico and the Palazzo del Giardino with the Galleria degli antichi. The latter is certainly the highlight. From the outside, the palace looks insignificant, but the interior is decorated with beautiful paintings illustrating scenes from Greek Mythlogie, e.g. Dedalo and Icaro, Philemon and Baucis, or the Orpheus myth. The most impressive part is the 100 m long Galleria, where once the art collection of the duke was exhibited. Unfortunately we could not visit the churches in Sabbioneta. The local priest was on holidays and has closed the eight churches. He has refused to give the keys to the tourist office. Obviously he is not very enthusiastic about the interest of tourists in his town.