Most important Renaissance city in Italy

Continuing with another great day in this very busy weekend visiting so many places in such a short time, we move towards both Mantua and Sabbioneta. One complimenting the other, and near each other, both inscribed by the UNESCO as World Heritage Sites for being exceptional testimonies to the urban, architectural and artistic realizations of the Renaissance, linked through the visions and actions of the ruling Gonzaga family. While Mantua is the extension and redesign of the pre-existing city, Sabbioneta highlights the creation of a new city following the most perfect lines of the Renaissance. In both, the large amount of historic churches, palaces and buildings lead to be the main artistic, cultural, and especially musical hubs of Northern Italy and the country as a whole.

Some further notes in history about famous people or facts, we can start with Mantua being the birthplace of Roman poet Virgil, where a square and statue honor his name, Piazza Virgiliana. Not only that composer Monteverdi premiered his opera L’Orfeo in mantua, it is overall, one of the most important centres in the history of opera. As last, for the Shakespeare’s lovers, Mantua is the city where Romeo banished in the play Romeo and Juliet.

Northern Italy, in the same way as is the south, offer countless cities and sights one after another, literally. Just a mere dozen of kilometres apart and you are in a different world. So as we landed in Verona as our perfect base, and enjoyed Vicenza and Padua the day before, one world famous for being pretty much the “birthplace” of neoclassical architecture, and the other containing the world’s first botanical garden dating from the 16th century; today we get to enjoy what arguably has been described as the birthplace of the Renaissance architecture and urbanism. And all of this not even an hour away from Verona’s downtown. (more…)