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As we approached Palazzo Te in the UNESCO World Heritage city of Mantua, Italy, we walked past the gates and Parco del Te, a large public park just outside the palace. We then went into the building and bought our tickets.
Main Building
Before entering the palace to see the state rooms, we walked around the exterior of the building. The main building of Palazzo Te is shaped like a square with a courtyard in the center.
On one side of the courtyard is the Loggia of the Muses, which was the guest entrance into the state rooms. The frescoes are dedicated to the Muses, who are traditional protectors of the arts and sciences.
Loggia of David
The east side of the building is the Loggia of David, which is dedicated to the life of David. Statues of the Virtues fill the niches.
Several frescoes portraying the life of David were painted in the loggia between 1532 and 1534. Scenes such as David playing a lyre is on the south wall while David fighting Goliath is represented on the north wall.
Courtyard of Honor
The loggia has three arches that open onto the Courtyard of Honor. The path past the central arch is a bridge that crosses fish ponds into the center of the courtyard.
A garden full of flowers and trees once filled the Courtyard of Honor. At the end of the courtyard is an exedra.
Secret Garden
Just north of the exedra is the Apartment of the Secret Garden. This is a small cluster of rooms centered around a grotto. The garden was decorated around 1531 and the walls surrounding it were once painted with landscapes.
The grotto was commissioned by Vincenzo I Gonzaga around 1592 and finished by his son, Ferdinando, in the early 1600s. It was built with real rocks, shells, and colored stones.
