Fifty kilometers south of Verona, the provincial capital of Mantua was the residence of the Gonzaga family from 1328 until 1707, and they made Mantua one of the most refined and cultivated of princely capitals, a great center of art and learning.
Their sumptuous residence, the massive Palazzo Ducale, dominates the town and is still one of Italy's most splendid palaces.
Today, it houses several important collections, including paintings, Greek and Roman sculpture, medieval and Renaissance sculpture, and tapestries made from cartoons by Raphael.
