Tom`s travels: Mantova (10/11/2019)

From Vicenza, we decided to take a day trip and visit the pretty town of Mantova. Ania, my brother, my mother, my aunt Theresa and I, took the car and in about one hour and a half arrived at our destination. Despite being relatively small in population, the city has a large historic center and is known for its Renaissance architecture. After parking our car, right next to the House of Giulio Romano, a nice renaissance mansion built by the famous architect for himself. We then continued onwards and reached the nice Pescherie, known as Loggia di Giulio Romano, a renaissance building constructed by the architect to host the city's fish market. The loggia is built over what is known as the Rio, a small canal that cuts through the city connecting two of the three lakes which surround the city, the Lago Superiore and Lago Inferiore. Not long after we then reached the beautiful Piazza Delle Erbe, one of the two central and main piazzas. Around it stand some of the most important buildings in the city, such as the Romanesque church, Rotonda San Lorenzo, the Palazzo Della Ragione, a gothic civic building with the beautiful renaissance Torre dell'Orologio, and the Basilica di Sant'Andrea which we proceeded to visit. The largest church in the city, it was designed by Leon Battista Alberti in a general Renaissance style during the 15th century. From its previous structure, just the bell tower and part of the cloister remain in a gothic style. The interior features some beautiful chapels, particularly interesting that featuring the tomb of the artist Mantegna, all in a Renaissance style with beautiful paintings, while the impressive cupola is the only Baroque part of the church. After seeing the church we continued our walk and reached the other main square, the Piazza Sordello, where other several important buildings are located such as the Duomo and the Palazzo Ducale, built between the 14th and 17th centuries and the main residence of the once-powerful Gonzaga family. We walked through the areas which were open to the public and didn't require and entry ticket, including some of the nice courtyards such as the Giardino Dei Semplici with its beautiful Italianate garden, the Piazza Santa Barbara where the palatine basilica is located, and the Piazza Castello which marks the entrance to the castle. From there, we headed back through the square and ended once again in Piazza Delle Erbe where we found a restaurant called Trattoria Cento Rampini to have lunch at. It was a bit pricy but very central and the dishes were relatively good. After eating we decided it was time to head back to the car and home, after a nice day out.