The Cappella della Madonna di Vitaleta on the road from Pienza to San Quirico d'Orcia

In 2001 I came to live in Italy. I had some fun, wrote a journal and this is the blog of my story...

"Tuscany is a state of grace. The countryside is so lovingly designed that the eye sweeps the mountains and valleys without stumbling over a single stone. The lilt of the rolling green hills, the upsurging cypresses, the terraces sculptured by generations that have handled the rocks with skillful tenderness, the fields geometrically juxtaposed as though drawn by a draughtsman for beauty as well as productivity; the battlements of castles on the hills, their tall towers standing grey-blue and golden tan among the forest of trees, the air of such clarity that every sod of earth stands out in such dazzling detail. The fields ripening with barley and oats, beans and beets. The grape-heavy vines espaliered between the horizontal branches of silver-green olive trees, composing orchards of webbed design, rich in intimation of wine, olive oil and lacy-leaf poetry. Tuscany untied the knots in a man's intestines, wiped out the ills of the world. Italy is the garden of Europe, Tuscany is the garden of Italy, Florence is the flower of Tuscany." Irving Stone from my favourite book " The Agony and the Ecstacy" A fictional biography of Michelangelo



58. Mantova

                                                      'Fortune Favours the Bold'  Virgil
                                                       Ludovico Gonzaga

This weekend Florence is going 'Anti-Global' as the social forum comes to town. This means I have Saturday off work! Hurrah! So a weekend in Mantova is the plan, with a special visit to the Gonzaga exhibition that's on at the moment.



Mantova or 'Mantua' in English, is a medium-sized city situated on the Emilia Romagna, Lombardy, Veneto borders and nestled in the Po valley. Although it was founded around 2,000 BC by the Etruscans, artistically, culturally and musically it was made famous by the wealthy Gonzaga family during the 14th century. After this, Mantua came under the rulership of the French, Spanish, Austrian Hapsburgs, Napoleon and finally incorporated into a united Italy in 1866. In 2008 it was made a UNESCO World Heritage Site.


We head off on Saturday lunchtime, as it's only a two and a half hour drive north and in no time we're there. We park up and head for the tourist office and book a room for the night at a local 'agriturismo' farmhouse just outside the city. As we have a few hours to check in, we go for a wander and soak up some of the atmosphere of this very pretty city. By chance we stumble on this famous church, St. Andrea, which is one of the many masterpieces by 'Renaissance man', Leon Battista Alberti, and a real architectural gem it is too!  Just round the corner is Piazza Erbe with this 11th century 'round' church, San Lorenzo, Palace and clock tower. Around the back there is a monument to Mantova's favourite son, the 70 BC poet, Virgil







There are outdoor market stalls and the centre is buzzing with locals enjoying a last bit of Saturday evening shopping as of course the shops close at 7.30 here in Italy. We stop at a bar and enjoy an aperitivo, with a 'brachetto,' which is a kind of red spumante... By now it's time for us to go and check in, so we make our way to Corte Nespolo, our renovated farmhouse for the night. It turns out to be very pleasant, definitely one of the best places we've stayed in Italy.



Then it's back out to find a restaurant for the evening. Which may be difficult on a Saturday evening... The first 3 or 4 places we find are all booked out. But finally we find a very modern looking place down a side alley. It's all decked out in minimalist style with white plastic furniture, not normally our kind of thing, however the food is very good. We try the local dish, Tortelli di Zucca (Pumpkin ravioli) which is very sweet! We also both go for the duck, which is ok and for dessert, I opt for some mountain cheeses and Annette gets the waiter to combine two desserts, which he dutifully does! And we have a very enjoyable evening. Finished off by a nice stroll through the huge Piazza Sardello, where we will be returning tomorrow.

http://www.cortaccia.com/



Sunday

After a very strange but tasty cheese and cake breakfast we're off on our art extravaganza. We've booked tickets for the Gonzaga exhibition and head to the Palazzo Te, a palace/villa built between 1524 and 1534 by Raphael's pupil, Giulio Romano. The exhibition celebrates the glorious collection of the prolific Gonzaga dukes that includes over 2,000 paintings and 20,00 precious objects which were commissioned over a four hundred year period. The Gonzagas were to Mantova what the Medici were to Florence and just as keen patrons of the arts. All these works have been scattered to the four corners of the globe, but for three months 1,800 pieces have been returned to Mantova for this extraordinary occasion...








Most of the collection is in the huge Celeste gallery and we stroll round admiring some the masterpieces. Some of my favourites include; Titian's very beautiful 'Woman with the mirror' usually exhibited in the Louvre.











 'Love Conquers All' Virgil



Andrea Mantegna's 'Dead Christ', usually in Milan, with its ground breaking perspective















and Correggio's breathtaking 'Mercury and Cupid'.


















After the Celeste gallery we take a look at the rest of the Palace - a series of themed rooms frescoed in the Mannerist style by Giulio Romano. In particular the hall of the Giants with a floor to ceiling fresco is impressive.














All 'arted' out for the morning, we drive back into the city and find a small Piazza to have a spot of lunch. The temperature is cold, but the fog has lifted and we sit outside in the sun... re-charged for the second leg of our tour-de-force... The Palazzo Ducale. We have come here to see Mantegna's 1465-1475 Masterpiece, the fresco of the 'Camera degli Sposi' (Wedding Room) There is a time limit for the viewing as it is a very small room, but it's definitely worth the visit! Three of the walls are frescoed with members of the Gonzaga family set in an idealized Roman countryside scene - and on the ceiling is an 'Oculus' with incredible foreshortening features, which was revolutionary for its time. Incredible!







Afterwards we are treated by an impromptu private tour of three special rooms of the Palace which were occupied by the real star of the family, Isabella d'Este, who was primarily responsible for keeping this vast collection together.




Isabella d'Este
(Leonardo da Vinci)




New Wine



As if we haven't done or seen enough, on the way out of Mantova I spot a poster advertising a 'Vino Novello' wine festival in nearby Ostiglia, so we take a little detour to check it out... Ostiglia is a small town, but for four days it has been turned into a huge tent, with new wine from all over the area and for the hefty price of 1 euro you can taste away to your heart’s content! I try about 10 different wines and we buy some dessert wine and a bottle of cream of Amaretto!






'Time flies never to be regained. Perhaps even these things, one day, will be pleasing to remember.' Virgil


(Original journal entry 10/11/02)

1 comment:

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