Mantua



Mantua (Italian: Mantova, Lombard: Mantua) is a world heritage listed city in Lombardy, Italy not far from Emilia-Romagna and Veneto. Because of the power and influence of the Gonzaga family, which used to own the city for over 400 years, Mantua was considered one of the most important cultural cities in the Renaissance and it maintains a lot of the buildings that made it famous during that period.

Understand
Mantua was where the composer Claudio Monteverdi premiered his opera L'Orfeo (1607), the earliest opera that is still regularly performed.

Mantua was named "Capital of Italian culture 2016".

In 2022, it had a population of 49,000.

By plane
The nearest airport to Mantua is near Verona, on the Brennero's Highway, 25 minutes away from the city. Other options are Guglielmo Marconi Airport, near Bologna, 1 hour away, and Orio al serio Airport, near Bergamo, reachable in less than 1½ hours via Highway.

The airport in Verona served by some low-cost airlines such as WizzAir (to Bucharest), EasyJet (from London-Gatwick, Paris-Charles de Gaulle) and VoloTea (from Bari, Palermo). Other big carriers such as ITA Airways and Lufthansa serve this airport daily. Airports in Bologna and Bergamo are served by the low-cost carrier Ryanair.

By train
The Verona-Modena railway line passes through, located in Piazza Don Leoni. It is also the end of the line for trains arriving from Monselice and Cremona. Train service from Milan is available everyday, every two hours and it costs €10.75. For Verona the frequency is every 40 minutes and the price is €3.15.

Via Verona you can get to Mantua from Venice, Brescia, Trento, Bolzano and via Modena you can reach Parma, Reggio Emilia, Bologna and all southern cities.

If you want to arrive from Bologna quickly, so you don't want to use the railway line Verona-Modena and change the train, a good idea would be to get the train on the Verona-Bologna line to the Nogara station, 20 minutes away by car from the city centre of Mantua.

Regional train services are operated by Trenord, the long distance trains are operated by Trenitalia. The city centre is 1 km east from the station.

By bus
Main bus station is just outside the train station. APAM S.p.a. offers many buses that connect the whole province with the city. Brescia, Sirmione, Peschiera del Garda, Mirandola are also cities served by this company. To know timetables and fares the easiest way is to use Google Maps which, thanks to a collaboration between Apam and Google, it's very accurate in timetables and routes.

By car
Mantua is crossed by the motorway (Autostrada del Brennero), that runs from Modena to Brenner. The best choice to reach the centre is the exit of Mantova Nord, just 5 km (3 miles) north of Piazza Sordello.

By bus
APAM S.p.a. manages the bus urban service in town and in the nearby municipalities and it's a good choice to move around the different areas of the city.

By car
A large section of the old town is a limited traffic zone (ZTL) and a pass is required to drive in this area, so it is better to park your car in one of the parking areas that surrounds it.

Free parking

 * . Just south of the stadium, not far from Palazzo Te.
 * . Large parking area close to Palazzo Te.
 * . Large parking area close to Palazzo Te.

Toll parking

 * . Close to Teatro Bibiena.
 * . Beside the namesake public garden, not far from the Cathedral.
 * . Entrance from Largo di Porta Pradella.
 * . Close to Palazzo Te and the House of Mantegna.
 * . Close to Palazzo Te.
 * . Close to Palazzo Te.

Do

 * Go to the museums:
 * Take a boat trip on the lakes and rivers around Mantua.
 * Take a boat trip on the lakes and rivers around Mantua.
 * Take a boat trip on the lakes and rivers around Mantua.
 * Take a boat trip on the lakes and rivers around Mantua.

Cope

 * Italian traffic signs - icona informazioni.svg
 * Italian traffic signs - icona informazioni.svg

Go next

 * Sabbioneta – a Renaissance ideal town. It is a UNESCO World Heritage site on par with Mantua.
 * Castel Goffredo – one of the capitals of the states of the Gonzaga.
 * Lake Garda – is at an easy reach by a direct bus 46 to Peschiera del Garda (take off at Piazza Bettelloni). From where you can take a ferry to the other destinations around the lake. Adventurous ones could take a bike ride right up to Peschiera along the Mincio Cycleway.