Enter Piazza Sordello from the south and on your left you have the grand house of the Gonzagas' predecessors, the Bonacolsi clan. Hapless prisoners used to be dangled in a cage from the tower, aptly called the Torre della Gabbia (Cage Tower).
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
21.57 MILES
Built of pink-tinged marble in the 1st century AD, Verona's Roman amphitheatre survived a 12th-century earthquake to become the city’s legendary open-air…
0.09 MILES
For more than 300 years the enormous Palazzo Ducale was the seat of the Gonzaga – a family of wealthy horse breeders who rose to power in the 14th century…
Galleria d'Arte Moderna Achille Forti
21.9 MILES
In the shadow of the Torre dei Lamberti, the Romanesque Palazzo della Ragione is home to Verona's jewel-box Gallery of Modern Art. Reached via the Gothic…
22.13 MILES
Across the river from the historic centre, these sculpted gardens are considered a masterpiece of Renaissance landscaping, and are named after the noble…
26.56 MILES
The jewel in the Allegrini crown, this historic villa dates to the mid-16th century and was built by intellectual and humanist Giulio della Torre…
25.3 MILES
Occupying 2 hectares at Sirmione's northern tip, this ruined 1st-century-AD Roman villa is a picturesque complex of teetering stone arches and tumbledown…
21.47 MILES
Bristling with fishtail battlements along the river Adige, Castelvecchio was built in the 1350s by Cangrande II. Severely damaged by Napoleon and WWII…
0.97 MILES
Palazzo Te was where Frederico II Gonzaga escaped for love trysts with his mistress Isabella Boschetti, and it's decorated in playboy style with stunning…
Nearby Mantua attractions
0.05 MILES
One of half a dozen squares that embellish Mantua's historic centre, the Broletto is home to the Palazzo del Podestà, once home to the city's highest…
0.05 MILES
Piazza Sordello is the oldest square in Mantua, and was probably the location of the Etruscan town. The existing layout is thanks to the Gonzagas, whose…
0.07 MILES
This archway built around 1300 links two palaces with a covered walkway above the street. Look up as you pass beneath the arch to see iron rings on which…
0.07 MILES
This huge, 13th-century palace sits between Piazza delle Erbe and Piazza Broletto and was commissioned by Duke Ludovico Gonzaga. For centuries it served…
0.09 MILES
The light, neoclassical Cattedrale pales before the magnificence of the Basilica di Sant’Andrea. The facade was erected in the mid-18th century, while the…
0.09 MILES
For more than 300 years the enormous Palazzo Ducale was the seat of the Gonzaga – a family of wealthy horse breeders who rose to power in the 14th century…
0.1 MILES
In the Palazzo della Ragione, which runs the length of the square from the Rotonda, and was once the seat of secular power in the city, you can see…