Mantua and the Gonzaga domains

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Italy (Europe and North America)

Date of Submission: 01/06/2006
Criteria: (ii)(iv)
Category: Cultural
Submission prepared by:
Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Activities
State, Province or Region:

Region: Lombardia - Province: Mantova

Description

Mantua is situated in the lower Po Valley, in Lombardia, at the junction of busy highways, bordered on three sides by the River Mincio whose bends spread out into a lake. The city was founded by the Etruscans and later became a Roman municipium; its development began only around the XII - XIII centuries, after the fenland had been reclaimed and turned into a lake.

The political ascent of the Gonzaga began in 1308 when Luigi, Captain of Mantua's city-state, drove out the Bonacolsi and founded a Seigniory destined to last for centuries, up to 1707. The family obtained the title of Marquess in 1433 and was elevated to the status of Sovereign Duke in 1530; for three centuries, under Gonzaga rule, Mantua grew to be increasingly important among European courts as its artistic, cultural, religious and military values developed.

The city's cultural prestige increased with Gianfrancesco Gonzaga (1407-1444) and with Ludovico III (1444-1478), who called Brunelleschi, Luca Fancelli, Luciano Laurana to Mantua and commissioned Leon Battista Alberti to design the project for two churches, S. Sebastiano and S. Andrea, considered milestones in the history of Renaissance architecture. In these two distinctly innovative  projects, Alberti experimented the adaptation of classical pediments to the traditional plan of Roman churches. For S. Sebastiano, Alberti chose the Greek cross plan with the austere pediment on one of the two branches. The other church, S. Andrea, will have a greater influence on the development of architectural models. Here Alberti chose the traditional Latin cross plan with a high, impressive, barrel-vaulted nave, derived from those used in Roman thermal baths; on the façade he combined a pedimented temple front and a triumphal arch. Alberti's projects were carried out by Luca Fancelli, who drew up the projects for the Ospedale Grande  and the renovation of  Palazzo del Podestà, and Castel San Giorgio; in 1480 he began the construction of the domus nova.

Andrea Mantegna's arrival in 1457 is a landmark in Mantua's development. Mantegna established himself in Mantua in 1460 and there created most of his masterpieces, namely Castel San Giorgio's camera picta. He supervised all the city's artistic and architectural projects and even gave  Fancelli instructions for Castel San Giorgio's courtyard. Palazzo Gonzaga in Mantua, just like Palazzo Montefeltro, was completed over time with the addition of a number of buildings which gradually formed an angular stronghold within the city without altering its structure.

Mantua's particular geographical situation made it naturally secure from a military standpoint, while the population was relatively stable so that no expansion of the urban nucleus was required;  all the works carried out during the last years of the century were, therefore, essentially aimed at finishing the city's existing  structure: the medieval arcades in the city centre were completed and several palazzi and private homes rebuilt. Two new offices were established: superintendent of Gonzaga building works (‘superiore delle fabbriche gonzaghesche') in 1483 and superintendent of the streets (‘superiore delle vie urbane') in 1497.

In 1524 Giulio Romano was appointed ‘superiore delle fabbriche gonzaghesche' by Federico Gonzaga and for over 20 years he supervised Mantua's renewal as well as all new buildings: Palazzo del Tè, the restoration of Castel San Giorgio, the new court, the slaughterhouse  and, as of 1545, the new cathedral.

In this medium-sized city, Giulio Romano put into practice the novel principles of "the third approach" and achieved his true masterpiece with Palazzo del Tè (1526 -1534) conceived right from the start as a suburban villa, "among the more successful instances of mannerist reciprocity between architectural volumes and gardens". Here Giulio Romano developed new compositions, new prototypes derived from an accurate study of ancient monuments; he used paintings and sculptures to create scenic illusions and achieved a sumptuous, princely, décor aimed at erudite and refined viewers. In the cathedral Giulio Romano was more severe and classical, while in his own house he followed, with ingenuity and creativity, the model established by Bramante in Raffaello's house.

At that time, Mantua's population reached its peak, 30,000 inhabitants, and the "Gonzaga building works" acquired the magnitude of a proper urban renewal. Giulio Romano built several public edifices and private houses renovated streets, fortifications and bridges, thus establishing the structure of modern-day Mantua, and further increasing his reputation in the whole of Europe. Just like Raffaello in Rome, Giulio Romano is given the title and the responsibility of co-ordinating and supervising all the artistic activities in Mantua; this procedure will become the rule in most European courts during the 16^th and 17^th century.

His position is that of an "art director" who exploits the talents of a team of highly qualified experts, in some cases even artists of great renown: Tiziano, for instance, author of the portraits of the emperors in Federico's Gabinetto dei Cesari.

On the territory under Gonzaga rule, which  included the whole of the Province of Mantua, as it is today, and Casale Monferrato, castles, villages and villas were erected, depending on the strategic relevance of each site. Aside from Mantua, several city states, namely Guastalla and Sabbioneta, became seat of the courts held by other branches of the Gonzaga family.

Ferrante Gonzaga, field marshal of the Spanish Emperor Charles V, required a property worthy of his name; he acquired Guastalla in 1539 and made of it one more important fortified cities of Northern Italy.

In the first half of the 16^th century, the Gonzaga appointed Domenico Giunti to supervise the city's urban renewal. The city's urban structure, unchanged to this day, features an orthogonal street network developing from near-parallel roads running from north to south. On of these is still  Guastalla's main road. and opens eastwards onto the piazza dominated by the Duomo (16^th century) and Palazzo Gonzaga (16^th century). The defences, ditches and curtains, formed a seven-sided regular polygon with ramparts at each corner. The Gonzaga summoned to their court architects of great renown, Giunti but also Volterra, as well as famous artists, Guercino and the Campi family, and poets, Torquato Tasso and Giovanni Battista Guarini

Sabbioneta is what is known as urbs condita, erected from scratch, by order of Vespasiano Gonzaga, between 1556 and 1591 following the principles set down by Vitruvius.  The city plan is typical of Renaissance town-planning, with its straight, wide streets intersecting at right angles. The two main squares, decentralized and placed asymmetrically, are still the city's two nuclei, around which all the more significant monuments are grouped.

Only two gates were opened along the star-shaped city-walls, on the Eastern and Western walls, with a straight road running across the whole city, from one to the other. 

Sabbioneta with its distinctly solemn and princely characteristics - the Prince was present and directly involved -  was known as "little Athens" on account of the perfect balance and proportions expressed in a compact and unitary context.

In this very particular framework, Vincenzo Scamozzi from Vicenza built the Teatro all'Antica (1588 - 1590) following the principles set down by Sebastiano Serlio. This is the first properly functioning modern indoor theatre; not built over pre-existing structures, with specific space for all the requirements of the theatre. There are two graceful orders on the outside while, inside, the rectangular hall reproduces the typically Renaissance theatre plan and still maintains the elegant loggia with its Corinthian pillars supporting 12 stucco statues of Olympian deities.

Justification for Outstanding Universal Value

Satements of authenticity and/or integrity

The proposed sites fulfil the criteria for authenticity; both the urban structure and the architectural complexes are well preserved and, in the course of time, have been restored following strict philological criteria. City centres and single monuments come under the protection of national legislation concerning cultural heritage, (Decree n. 42/2004), regional regulations (landscaping regulations) and municipal regulations (zoning regulations), while the management procedure are aimed at ensuring their conservation.

Comparison with other similar properties

The artistic and cultural level achieved in Mantua, where the Gonzaga gathered a group of artists second only to that working in Rome, places this city among the major Italian art cities. Mantua and the other cities under Gonzaga rule with their sumptuous monuments and works of art in the city centre, are a typical example of Renaissance "court culture" expressed with a distinctly original inflection.