Wednesday
I have not uploaded my photos for the remainder of my trip, so any photos posted here now will be from the internet. Thanks internet!
Today we took a couple of trains to Mantova. Mantova is a small city in central/northern Italy about 40 minutes away from Verona. It is most well known for the camera picta painted by Mantenga in the Ducale Palace, and the incredible Palazzo Te, done almost in entirety by Giulio Romano.
Subsequently, carry a hard-case suitcase up and down stairs will turn your knees black with bruises.
After checking in to our hotel (across the street from the train station) we walked to the Ducale Palace where we had a reservation for entry. We were basically the only ones there. It was like our experience in the Vatican, but we were truly the only ones there and it was 4 o'clock in the afternoon. The palace itself is now connected with Castle of St. George, but the whole tour is set up a specific way so you just walk through. There are many different artists who have worked on this palace/castle combination, and it was really interesting to see the different styles. I did my best to explain some things to my mother, but I don't know everything. My two favorite ceilings (yes all of Mantova is about ceilings) were the labyrinth room and of course the camera picta in the marriage chamber.
Labyrinth Room Ceiling, Inscription reads Forse Che Si, Forse Che No
Maybe Yes, Maybe No
Mantenga's Camera Picta
When we had finished our tour of the Palazzo Ducale we decided to have the local specialty for dinner, Tortelli di Zucca (Ravioli with Pumpkin in a butter and sage sauce). The tortelli were delicious. The filling was like pumpkin pie filling with no molasses. It was so divine, I could have eaten at least two plates of the stuff. My mom also enjoyed the tortelli, I think maybe if she was willing to pay for it ($$$ and weight gain) she would have wanted a second plate too (we each had one plate).
Then we had a nice walk around the town and went back to our hotel so I could finish my paper. Yes finish. I finished it. Yay.
Thursday
This morning we had a reservation at the Palazzo Te at 9 am (when it opens). Boy was I glad to be here on a Thursday. Again, not a single soul (well there were about four other souls but really it was a quiet group and we all moved at different paces). The Palazzo Te is an incredible Palace commissioned by Federico Gonzaga II and built and decorated by Giulio Romano. It is a U-shaped structure that takes you through different rooms with different stories and there are various themes that one walks through. My favorite rooms are the room of Cupid and Psyche and the room of the Giants. I have high quality photos of these rooms somewhere, but I cannot find them (maybe on my hard drive) so you'll just have to deal with ones from the internet (sorry). If you have an Artstor account, look on there.
Ceiling of the Sali dei Giganti
The Fall of the Giants
Ceiling of the Sala dei Psiche
After our incredible visit to the Palazzo Te, we decided to read the brochure on things to do in Mantova. We decided that we could see a couple of things on our walk to the town square(s) for lunch. In Mantova there are a few museums and churches (all small but beautiful/interesting) and then there are a couple of residences you can view (mostly from the outside) and then there are the Palazzos and then you can take a boat ride if you want to other parts of Italy.
We walked to the house of Mantenga, which was really interesting in shape. It is a square building with a cylindrical center (open courtyard). We were able to walk into the courtyard, and it really reminded me of his camera picta at the Ducale, so that was nice. Then we saw the façade of Giulio Romano's house (which is now a private residence). He decorated it, and it was really interesting, in the mannerist style of course.
Mantenga Courtyard
Thursday is the day for the farmer's market in Mantova, but all of the stalls were closing by the time we reached the beginning of the market. We managed to buy some apricots which were delicious. We decided on a place for lunch and we went crazy... we ordered three pasta dishes. Tortelli di Zucca, Maccheroni and Beef (like beef stew with caramelized onions), and Agnoli with beef and tomatoes. The Tortelli was not as good as the restaurant the evening before (which was a bit upsetting). The sauce was watery in comparison, and the filling was too sweet. The other dishes were delicious, and the Maccheroni and Beef is another traditional dish from Mantova (the meat is supposed to cook for three days).
After lunch we wanted to go on the boat ride, but of course the boat is only at 10:30 am on Thursdays, so we were out of luck. We went back to the hotel for a nap and then regrouped around 5 pm so that I could record the bells of Mantova at 5:45 pm. After our recording session we decided to try the drink that everyone drinks in Italy, a Spriz. Spriz is a mix of sparkling white wine (or prosecco if it is made well), soda water, and aperol. It's a bit gross, but we shared one (and we weren't charged for it). We decided to sit and have a couple more drinks (Well one each). I had a Gonzaga (named after the family who ruled Mantova for a long time) which was basically a gimlet with pineapple and mango, and mom had Sex on the Beach (which I thought was too sweet and I'm glad I didn't order it). We also had some potato chips and mini pizza/foccacia bites. And that was dinner (also we had gelato).
Then we went back to the hotel and I checked my e-mail (my roommates and I found a place to live and we signed everything, yay!) and then we watched an episode of Qi, my new favorite show (all episodes on youtube) and we went to bed early.
Tomorrow... to Padova!
