Palazzo del Podestà

Mantua


This huge, 13th-century palace sits between Piazza delle Erbe and Piazza Broletto and was commissioned by Duke Ludovico Gonzaga. For centuries it served as the town hall, but is currently under renovation after suffering damage in the 2012 Emilia earthquake. Containing 200 rooms spread over eight floors, the work involved is huge, with 2021 touted as the earliest completion date.


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Nearby Mantua attractions

1. Arengario

0.01 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…

2. Piazza Broletto

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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…

3. Palazzo della Ragione

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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…

4. Piazza delle Erbe

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Once the location of the town's vegetable market, Piazza delle Erbe is Mantua's most lively piazza. Its 13th-century Palazzo della Ragione sports a 15th…

5. Rotonda di San Lorenzo

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The weather-worn, 11th-century, Lombard Romanesque Rotonda di San Lorenzo is sunk below the level of the square, its red-brick walls still decorated with…

6. Basilica di Sant'Andrea

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Easily usurping Mantua's cathedral, this towering basilica safeguards the golden vessels said to hold earth soaked by the blood of Christ. Longinus, the…

7. Torre della Gabbia

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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…

8. Piazza Sordello

0.12 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…