Mantova Travel Guide

I would say Palazzo Ducale is the main attraction in Mantova. The building is huge and actually consist in several different parts built in different time. It is open to visit Tuesday to Sunday from 8.15 to 19.15, closed Monday, 1st January and 25th December. Tickets cost 6.5 euros each. They strongly recommend to book in advance, so i did, but i...

See the glimpse of the majestic interior pf the Basilica di Sant'Andrea. This great monumental interior, in Latin-cross plan, have a nave and square side chapels alternating with smaller chapels covered by cupolas. The idea of a single hall with side chapels is typical of Alberti and was later frequently adopted in 16th and 17th century...

San Pietro is the main church of Mantova, it had an amazing neoclassical facade, white and adorned with statues, and the Gothic side is just as interesting with its spiky bricks ornaments. The contrast is actually amazing. The inside is also interesting, with a marble floor and several chapels. They also have a great organ, the player was...

Erected in 1473. Its huge clock was created by the mathematician Bartolomeo Manfredi and originally indicated not only the time but also the months and astronomic positions. Below the clock there's the statue of the 'Madonna Immacolata' (Virgin Mary) dating back to the seventeenth century.

This marvellous church is one of the oldest of the city. Built in the 11th century it was partially demolished when included in the Jewish Ghetto. It was finally restored in 1908 following the example of the romanic temple of San Tomè, just near Bergamo.

Bartolino of Novara built St George's Castle in the late 14th century for the Gonzaga family. It was the linchpin of the city's defenses. Originally, it was surrounded by a moat, now filled in. The interior is noted for its frescoes.

Every guide, every review collection I checked before going to Mantova pointed me to this restaurant describing it as one of the best in town. We went on a Saturday lunch, arrived early and got one of the last table. The atmosphere was warm, the waiters are friendly, efficient and professional and, if you will, they will guide you through their...

A friend recommended me this place for pizza. We went there for lunch and took a look around to see what was in other's plates... yes, good pizza BUT also great looking fish! We went through the menu and quickly realized this was a good find. It was that kind of restaurant you find often around Italy, the owner and all the people working are from...

The host at our hotel suggested this local Osteria and drew a map for us to find it. It is in a location that a tourist would never find on his/her own. Antica Osteria Broletto is a family owned and run Osteria and quite popular with the locals. We were the only tourist. They did not speak English. Allan ordered Pork with potatoes, salad and...

The city of Modena is well known for its fine cuisine, which belongs among the best in Italy. Osteria delle Erbe is a good example where you can have a typical dish from Southern Lombardy. Unfortunatelly, I wasn't very hungry because of the hot day, so I ordered pizza Quattro staggioni, which was very good and a beer. The price I payed was...

This is one of those places you would never find unless somebody point you at it... It is in a small street in a area of Mantova where there is no tourist attraction, yet it SHOULD BE a tourist attraction itself!! Our residence gave us a coupon for a free appetizer in this place so we decided to try it out for dinner as it was very close to our...

Zohara, Chiara, Alex and I arrived in Mantua, hungry.... We were attracted to Taverna del Duca on the main square which advertizes on a very large sign outside the restaurant "complete meal 14 Euro". Drawn in and after Chiara questioned the owner, we were convinced that we had found the ideal place to sample and enjoy some local food for a decent...

As in many other old towns, driving iside ancient Mantova is almost impossible, there are no parking inside old city. So, you should use parking outside or near the wall. Then walk no more, than 5-10 min to the center.

ITALIANO Essendo una citt? piccola vi divertirete molto di pi? esplorandola a piedi con una cartina in mano (e magari anche un gelato!). Annuserete il profumo del pane che esce dai vari negozi alimentari e vi rilasserete! NEl caso in cui non vogliate rinunciare alla macchina, nel mio sito troverete interessanti informazioni a proposito dei...

Even though Mantova offers a bus pass like other larger cities, you do not need one. You can walk across the city in 20 minutes and their is little traffic. It is a walker's dream city.

I heard about this place doing my research, it is a small but very nice and unusual shop. I would say it is perfect as it put together two of my passions, food and books! the entrance of the shop is a cheese and food specialty shop, you can find a lot of cheese, salami, spices, tea, oil and wine from the local area. It smelled wonderful and was...

Mantova farmer market take place in Piazza Erbe every Saturday. It is a small area so the stand are limited but they were offering lots of great local products! Fresh vegetables and fruit. Wine Oil bakery stuff honey local crafts Less than in a supermarket

Mantova farmer market take place in Piazza Erbe every Saturday.It is a small area so the stand are limited but they were offering lots of great local products! Fresh vegetables and fruit.WineOilbakery stuffhoneylocal crafts Less than in a supermarket

The mail boxes outside the main Post office in Piazza Martiri di Belfiore captured my attention. They are the old kind, when the envelopes were sorted manually so they had specific holes for several destinations. The ones here are for: - letters and postcards in town - correspondence in town - correspondence in the province - business card and...

The mail boxes outside the main Post office in Piazza Martiri di Belfiore captured my attention.They are the old kind, when the envelopes were sorted manually so they had specific holes for several destinations. The ones here are for:- letters and postcards in town- correspondence in town- correspondence in the province - business card and...

This is not necessary a tip, actually it is more like a funny curiosity!I was strolling around and I noticed this colorful shop selling.... man beachwear... awfully expensive man's beachwear!!!But, after I recover from having seen the price's tags what gave me a good laugh was the sign hang on the door.... instead of the common "Torno subito" (back...

The office of Tourist information in Mantova (Informazione ed Accoglienza Turistica piazza Mantegna, 6) is located in unreachable area for car. Also, unfriendly staff doesn't provide real help to find accommodation in the city, unlike Tourist information in other cities in Italy. You cat request the booklet with all appartments and hotels, but you...

Just a quick word to remind you all that sometimes when you visit a beautiful city such as Mantua which has a strong and old culinary tradition you might be curious to try some of its special dishes. I would suggest you to buy DOC or DOP products so that you have the guarantee that what you are buying and eating/drinking is worth it!

This off the beaten path museum really made my trip! We just came out from Osteria la Fragoletta after a huge lunch and quite a bit of wine an we though that the fire department museum was appropriate for the moment!! We went inside without big expectations and we were left astonished!The building was a Gonzaga horse stable and has been restored...

This little building was a real find! we saw there was a free exhibit of some sort going on, as all the museums are so expensive nowadays why pass on something free?So we went in and discovered a small gem. The church was built on a Mantegna project and built by some of his scholars, his are the frescoes on the wall and it is a real pity the whole...

Some British people may know that the Scottish writer, J M Barrie, who wrote Peter Pan, also wrote a play called 'The Admirable Crichton', first produced in 1902. Crichton is the butler to an English aristocratic family. The play humourously dissects Edwardian social mores and the class system. Many more Brits will be familiar with the 1957 film...

Mantua (or Mantova) is built at the bend in a river and like many places around the globe they took advantage to bring the water into their city. Here, like in Venice they have canals and if you have the time use it to just "wander".

While we did not have time in our whirlwind tour of Mantua to enter the Cathedral, thought I would enter it for the information so the next traveler could make it inside.Some information at wikipedia,http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mantua_Cathedralwe will have to visit it when we return to our friends Chiara and Alex.

Once again used the wikipedia for information here in Mantua, the link is here,http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basilica_of_Sant%27Andrea,_Mantuathat is if you would like more history and photos.What struck us was the beauty of the entrance arch with the inset square depressions which made a very striking ceiling.