Last updated on .
The Ducal Palace (Palazzo Ducale) was the home of the Gonzaga family during their rule over the UNESCO World Heritage city of Mantua, Italy. It’s located on Piazza Sordello and contains some impressive frescoes and artwork.
Introduction to the Ducal Palace
Construction on what became the Ducal Palace began in the late 13th century under the Bonacolsi family, who ruled Mantua before the Gonzagas. The palace occupies an area of approximately 34,000 square meters and has over 500 rooms, 7 gardens, and 8 courtyards, making it the sixth largest palace in Europe.
The Gonzaga family lived at the Ducal Palace from 1328 to 1707, but it was stripped of most furnishings and artwork due to financial constraints in the early 17th century and the Sack of Mantua in 1630. The Habsburgs partially refurnished it with paintings and sculptures starting in 1716. With the end of Habsburg rule in 1866, the palace lost its function and became property of the state. It first opened to the public as a museum on October 10, 1887, and was thoroughly restored during the 20th century.
The oldest building of the complex is the Palazzo del Capitano, which faces Piazza Sordello and makes up part of the Old Court (Corte Vecchio) along with the Magna Domus and Domus Nova. The palace also includes the Castle of St. George, the New Court (Corte Nuova), and the Palatine Basilica of Santa Barbara.
Visiting the Ducal Palace
There are a few options for visiting the Ducal Palace along with the Castle of St. George and the National Archaeological Museum of Mantua (Museo archeologico nazionale di Mantova). You can purchase tickets online or at the entrance to the castle on Piazza Sordello. The complex is open daily except Mondays. Check the official website for more info. Prices are current as of April 2025. Keep in mind there’s a €1 presale fee:
- A combo ticket including the Castle of St. George, the Old Court, the New Court, and the National Archaeological Museum of Mantua is €15 for adults and free for kids under 18. If you have a Mantova Sabbioneta Card, you only have to pay a supplement of €5.50 for the Camera degli Sposi.
- A combo ticket including the Old Court, the New Court, and the National Archaeological Museum of Mantua is €9 for adults and free for kids under 18 and holders of a Mantova Sabbioneta Card.
We opted for the full combo ticket. The Old Court was partially open while the New Court was closed during our visit. We also didn’t visit the archaeological museum.
Old Court of the Ducal Palace
The Old Court (Corte Vecchia) of the Ducal Palace consists of the oldest part of the complex. Much of it is housed in the Palazzo del Capitano (Captain’s Palace), which was built by Guido dei Bonacolsi (d. 1309) in the late 13th century. The building was initially only two stories. In the early 14th century, the third story was added and it was joined to the Magna Domus, which was built in 1299, by a portico. The Domus Nova, designed by architect Luca Fancelli (c. 1430-c. 1502), was added between 1480 and 1484.
Passerino Corridor
The self-guided tour starts with a walk down the long Passerino Corridor (Corridoio di Passerino). The mummified body of Passerino Bonalcosi (1278-1328), who was overthrown by the Gonzagas in 1328, is said to be preserved there.
Guastalla Apartments
Next are the Guastalla Apartments (Appartamento della Guastalla), where Anna Isabella Gonzaga (1655-1703) lived. The apartments consists of six rooms including the Hall of the Emperors (Sala degli Imperatori). They feature ornate wooden ceilings decorated at the end of the 16th century as well as traces of 14th century frescoes.
Among the works of art on display is the marble tombstone of Alda d’Este (1333-1381), the wife of Ludovico II Gonzaga (1334-1382). It was made in 1381 by Bonino da Campione (1325-c. 1397) as part of her husband’s funerary monument at the Church of San Francesco. The monument was destroyed in 1802 and only the tombstone survived. It transferred to the Ducal Palace in 1928. At the beginning of the 19th century the figure on the tombstone was believed to depict Margherita Malatesta (1370-1399), the wife of Francesco I Gonzaga (1366-1407).
Pisanello Room
The Pisanello Room (Sala del Pisanello) contains a large fresco by Pisanello (c. 1380/1395 – c. 1450/1455) depicting the Tournament-Battle of Louvezerp. It was commissioned by Gianfrancesco I Gonzaga (1395-1444), who’s also depicted in the scene. The fresco was painted between 1436 and 1444 but never completed. It was covered with faux marble decorations by the end of the 16th century and in 1701 covered by a frieze of portraits of the Gonzagas. The Pisanello frescoes were rediscovered and restored between 1965 and 1970. The original name of the room was the Hall of the Princes (Sala dei Principi).
Hall of the Popes
The Pisanello Room opens to the Hall of the Popes (Sala dei Papi), which contains a preparatory drawing by Pisanello on the wall.
New Gallery
The tour continues with the New Gallery (Galleria Nuova), where several paintings are on display. The room was constructed in 1778 by Italian architect Giuseppe Piermarini (1734-1808) to connect the Palazzo del Capitano with the Domus Nova.
Hall of the Archers
The first room in the Domus Nova is the impressive Hall of the Archers (Sala degli Arcieri), which has a ceiling painted to depict a cloudy sky. On display are a few large paintings that once belonged to churches and monasteries.
One of the works on display is The Gonzaga Family in Adoration of the Holy Trinity, which was painted between 1604 and 1605 by Flemish artist Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640). The painting was commissioned by Vincenzo I Gonzaga (1562-1612) and served as the altarpiece for the Church of the Holy Trinity (Chiesa della Santissima Trinità). It measures 381 x 477 centimeters (150 x 188 inches). The work was the central part of a triptych. The other paintings are the Transfiguration of Christ, which is now in Nancy, while the Baptism of Christ is in Antwerp.
Hall of Mirrors
The Hall of Archers opens to the Hall of Mirrors (Galleria degli Specchi), which was built by Vincenzo I Gonzaga in the late 16th century. The frescoes were painted by Antonio Maria Viani (b. c. 1540). Other decorations were added in 1773.
Ducal Apartments
Next, we walked through the Ducal Apartments (Appartamento Ducale). They were built by Guglielmo Gonzaga (1538-1587) around 1580 and consist of five rooms. The ceilings are carved out of wood and were redecorated by Antonio Maria Viani during the reign of Vincenzo I Gonzaga.
First is the Hall of Judith (Sala di Giuditta), which contains four 17th century paintings by Pietro Mango depicting scenes from the life of Judith.
Second is the Labyrinth Room (Sala del Labirinto), which contains a labyrinth carved into the ceiling with the motto of Francesco II Gonzaga (1466-1519), “Maybe yes maybe no“. It was transferred from the Palazzo San Sebastiano and commemorates the Battle of Kanizsa in Hungary, where Vincenzo I Gonzaga fought against the Ottomans.
The Crucible Room (Sala del Crogiuolo) has a ceiling identical to the one in the Hall of Judith. The room contains the motto “Me probasti domine et cognovisti me” (You have tested me, Lord, and you have known me).
The last two rooms are the Room of Cupid and Psyche (Sala di Amore e Psiche) and the Room and Jupiter and Juno (Sala di Giove e Giunone).
Corridor of the Moors
The visit continues through the narrow Corridor of the Moors (Corridoio dei Mori), which was built to connect the Magna Domus to the Domus Nova. It was decorated in the early 17th century by Antonio Maria Viani with frescoes of different trees and stuccoes.
Loggetta of Santa Barbara
The corridor connects to the Loggetta of Santa Barbara (Loggetta di Santa Barbara), which features more impressive paintings on the ceiling.
Room of the Moors
The Room of the Moors (Camerino dei Mori) follows. On the ceiling, which was completed in 1580, is a round 17th century painting of Venus and amorini by Daniel van den Dyck (1614-1663).
Hall of the Falcons
Next is the Hall of the Falcons (Sala dei Falconi), which features decorations from the second half of the 16th century.
Zodiac Room
The Zodiac Room (Sala dello Zodiaco) was the bedroom of Guglielmo Gonzaga (1538-1587) and one of the most interesting rooms in the palace. It features an astronomical fresco of Diana’s chariot pulled by dogs among the constellations of the Zodiac, painted on the ceiling by Lorenzo Costa the Younger (1537-1583), with the help of Ippolito Andreasi (1548-1608), between 1579 and 1580.
The room also served as Napoleon’s bedroom during the Napoleonic Wars. In 1813, the room was updated to its current Neoclassical appearance. The walls were decorated with pilasters with gilded candlesticks and motifs by Gerolamo Staffieri (1785-1837). Above the doors are four imitation bronze stucco panels depicting the following scenes: Napoleon receives the sword of Mars from Jupiter; Italy offers the Laws to Napoleon; Napoleon accepts the products of the earth; and Minerva presents the arts and sciences to Napoleon.
Hall of the Rivers
Just off the Zodiac Room is the spectacular Hall of the Rivers (Sala dei Fiumi). This room was once a refectory but was refurbished under Habsburg rule. It portrays all the rivers in Mantuan territory as giants and has a grotto with an urn at each end. The paintings were created around 1775 by Giorgio Anselmi (1723-1797).
Apartments of the Tapestries
The final rooms open during our visit were the Apartments of the Tapestries (Appartamento degli Arazzi). They consist of three rooms containing nine hand-woven tapestries depicting the Acts of the Apostles. They’re some of the most impressive works of art in the palace.
The tapestries were purchased in Brussels around 1557 by Cardinal Ercole Gonzaga (1505-1563) to decorate what was then called the Green Apartment (Appartamento Verde). They were made in Flanders based on drawings by Raphael (1483-1520). The same drawings were used for the Raphael tapestries that once hung in the Sistine Chapel at the Vatican.
In his will, Ercole instructed his nephew Guglielmo to hang the tapestries in the Palatine Church of Santa Barbara (the palace chapel), where they were displayed for nearly 200 years beginning in 1565. They ended up in storage and were eventually forgotten. The tapestries were rediscovered, restored, and placed in their current locations in 1799. After the end of Austrian rule in 1866, they were taken to Schönbrunn Palace in Vienna. They remained there until 1919 when they were returned to the Ducal Palace in Mantua.
Garden of Honor
The Garden of Honor (Giardino d’Onore), also known as the Courtyard of the Four Plane Trees (Cortile dei Quattro Platani), is a courtyard between the Domus Nova and the older wings of the Old Court. It’s bordered by the Hall of Mirrors, the Corridor of the Moors, the Apartments the Tapestries, and the New Gallery.
Castle of St. George
The Castle of St. George (Castello di San Giorgio) is another part of the Ducal Palace. It was built between 1395 and 1406 by Francesco I Gonzaga (1366-1407) for the defense of Mantua. According to tradition, it was designed by Bartolino da Novara (d. 1406/1410). The castle stands on the site of a Romanesque church, Santa Maria di Capo di Bove, demolished with the permission of Pope Boniface IX.
In 1459, Ludovico III Gonzaga (1412-1478) gave up his rooms in the Old Court to Pope Pius II for the Council of Mantua. He decommissioned the Castle of St. George as a defensive structure and had Luca Fancelli (c. 1430-c. 1502) renovate it as a palace.
In 1490, the castle hosted the Studiolo of Isabella d’Este (1474-1539) until she moved it to the Old Court between 1519 and 1522. It also served as the prison of Condottiero Paolo Vitelli (1461-1499) in 1496. The Castle of St. George remained the main residence of the Gonzagas until around 1580, when Guglielmo Gonzaga (1538-1587) moved his apartments to the Old Court.
In 1810, Tyrolean freedom fighter Andreas Hofer (1767-1810) was imprisoned in the castle before he was executed by the Napoleonic Kingdom of Italy. After Mantua became part of the Austrian Empire in 1814, the castle became a maximum security prison for political opponents.
The Castle of St. George consists of four large towers on each corner and a central courtyard. It’s surrounded by a moat is crossed by three drawbridges. The tourist entrance is over a bridge connecting Piazza Castello to the southwest tower of the castle.
Staircase of Aeneas
Just inside the entrance is Staircase of Aeneas (Scalone di Enea), which is a covered stairway decorated with frescoes. The stairway connects the Castle of St. George to the New Court, which was closed at the time of our visit. The staircase was designed by Giovanni Battista Bertani (1516-1576) in 1549.
Camera degli Sposi
The most famous room in the castle, the Camera degli Sposi (Bridal Chamber) is on the first floor of the northeast tower. Also known as the Picture Chamber (Camera Picta), it’s filled with incredible frescoes painted by Andrea Mantegna (c. 1431-1506) between 1465 and 1474. It’s considered a masterpiece in the use of both trompe-l’œil and di sotto in sù. The room is about 8.05 meters on each side with two windows, two doors, and a fireplace.
On the north wall above the fireplace is The Court, depicting Ludovico III discussing a document with his secretary Marsilio Andreasi. His wife, Barbara of Brandenburg (1422-1481), is seated with members of the his family, including his daughters Barbara and Paola; his sons Gianfrancesco (1446-1496), Rodolfo (1452-1495), and Ludovico (1460–1511); and his dog Rubino.
The Meeting, on the west wall, depicts Ludovico III meeting with his son, Cardinal Francesco Gonzaga (1444 – 1483), Holy Roman Emperor Frederick III, and Christian I of Denmark. Also present are the children of Federico I Gonzaga (1444-1483), Francesco II (1466-1519) and Sigismondo (1469-1525).
On the ceiling, Mantegna painted an oculus that opens to a blue sky, with playful putti, maids, and a peacock looking down into the room. Further down are portraits of the first 8 Roman emperors in medallions held up by putti as well as 12 fake bas-reliefs of mythological scenes.
Room of the Suns
Next is the Room of the Suns (Sala dei Soli), which features 15th century frescoes. The room was renovated by Giulio Romano (c. 1499-1546) in 1531 and later in the 16th century by Giovanni Battista Bertani (1516-1576). The fireplace is attributed to Luca Fancelli.
Final Rooms
The final rooms are the Middle Room (Stanza di Mezzo) and the Chamber of the Hoods (Camera delle Cappe). They contain exhibitions of a few works of religious art. The Chamber of the Hoods features 16th century frescoes on a barrel-vaulted ceiling. The path through the Castle of St. George concludes in the courtyard.
Palatine Basilica of Santa Barbara
Palatine Basilica of Santa Barbara (Basilica Palatina di Santa Barbara) was the palace chapel. It was commissioned by Guglielmo Gonzaga (1538-1587) and designed by architect Giovanni Battista Bertani (1516-1576). It was built in two phases, from 1562 to 1567 and 1569 to 1572. It was closed at the end of the 19th century and reopened to the public on September 16, 2018. The church features a single nave with side chapels, a square dome, and a brick bell tower. Inside are paintings by Lorenzo Costa the Younger (1537-1583), Domenico Riccio (1516-1567), and Fermo Guisoni (d. after 1566). There’s also an organ built in 1565 by Graziadio Antegnati.
