Mantua in a day
Morning
Our itinerary for sight seeing in Mantua with less than 24 hours starts at Piazza delle Erbe. On the East side, next to the clock tower Torre dell'Orologio, you find yourself facing the Palazzo della Ragione, a building constructed around the middle of the thirteenth-century to host town meetings. Today the building is home to art exhibitions organised by the local government.
Through the Portico dei Lattonai, under the Palazzo della Ragione, you can pass close to Piazza Broletto and, from here, to Piazza Sordello, home to the Casa di Rigoletto. From Piazza Sordello the grand and great castle Castello di San Giorgio stands out. Tourists from all corners of the world come to the fort to admire the Camera degli Sposi, or Camera Picta, a room with frescos painted by Andrea Mantegna between 1465 and 1475, a gift from the artist to the Gonzaga family - booking required to visit. Once you have a ticket, which is free for under 18s and over 65s, you can visit the Camera Picta, and also most of the Castello di San Giorgio and the Palazzo Ducale: the Gonzaga family's palace, a series of luxurious apartments, halls, corridors, courtyards and gardens. Isabella d'Este's apartment, left to her by her late husband, is a must see.
For lunch you can stop in one of the many typical restaurants in the historic centre. In Mantua a love of food is second only to a love of renaissance art. Typical dishes to try include the Chisœla - a salty and crunchy foccaccia with flour, sugar, butter, almonds, pine nuts, egg and lemon zest; pumpkin tortelli; risotto con i saltaréi - risotto with prawns from the river which are fried in boiling oil; boiled meats; beef stews with polenta; and a local cake called torta sbrisolòna, which means crumbly in Mantuan dialect.
