Italy · Lombardia · Cities of art

Mantua

the city of the Gonzaga closed in by three lakes, in the middle of the Po Valley

2 stopswhere to park

5 sightsto see

3 eventsseasonal

January 2026checked

Mantua is a city of water in the middle of the Po Valley: three artificial lakes, made in the twelfth century by regulating the course of the Mincio, close it in on three sides. A UNESCO World Heritage site since 2008, it carries the mark of the Gonzaga everywhere; they ruled it from 1328 to 1707 and made it one of the centres of the Italian Renaissance. For those travelling by motorhome it is an easy city: the historic centre is almost all pedestrian, the equipped areas lie outside the ZTL, and you go in on foot, by bicycle or on the free shuttle.

Sleeping

Stops and overnight stays

Two equipped areas, both outside the ZTL: one right against the centre, the other seven kilometres out, inside a park.

Area Attrezzata Camper Sparafucile

Via Legnago 1, 46100 Lunetta-Frassino (MN)

it stands in front of the northern entrance to the city, in the green of the Mincio Park and looking at the skyline. It is the handiest one for the centre: across the San Giorgio bridge and the pedestrian and cycle eco-tunnel you are at Palazzo Ducale in 10 to 15 minutes on foot, 5 to 10 by bicycle. The pitches are on grass over bare earth, each with a 1 kW electricity hook-up and water, and the toilet block has hot showers. In the rain the ground softens and puddles and mud form: on wet days it is worth watching where you put your feet and your wheels. The free shuttle to the centre leaves from the nearby Campo Canoa car park, which you reach on foot through the eco-tunnel.

56 motorhome pitches

WaterElectricityGrey waterChemical toiletToiletsShower

Paid, automatic pay station

45.165000, 10.811900

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Area Camper Grazie di Curtatone

Parco Paganini, Via della Fiera 1, 46010 Grazie di Curtatone (MN)

a municipal area in the hamlet of Grazie di Curtatone, run by volunteers of the Camper Solidale Mantova association. Pitches in the green, partly shaded, with an electricity and water hook-up on each one; the hot showers work on a token, 1 euro. There are free WiFi, a playground and a barbecue area. A few steps away stand the sanctuary of the Grazie and the pier of the Barcaioli del Mincio; anyone staying here gets 10 per cent off the boat trips. Mantua is 10 km by bicycle on the cycle path, or 15 to 20 minutes by bus. On 15 August, for the Antichissima Fiera delle Grazie, the area stays closed to make room for the stalls.

103 motorhome pitches

WaterElectricityGrey waterChemical toiletToiletsShowerWi-Fi

Paid, and the proceeds net of expenses go to charity

45.153600, 10.691100

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Getting around

The historic centre is compact and almost all pedestrian: Piazza Sordello, Piazza Erbe, the Duomo and the shopping streets are a few steps from one another
From the Sparafucile area to Palazzo Ducale it is 10 to 15 minutes on foot by the San Giorgio bridge and the eco-tunnel, or 5 to 10 minutes by bicycle
The Mantua countryside has more than 400 km of cycle paths, many of them along the lakes; from Grazie di Curtatone to the centre it is 10 km of flat cycle path inside the Mincio Park
From the Campo Canoa car park, next to the Sparafucile area, a free town shuttle leaves for Piazza Sordello and Palazzo Te: one run every 12 to 15 minutes on weekdays, from about 7:00 to 21:00
From Grazie di Curtatone the town bus reaches the centre in 15 to 20 minutes; tickets are sold by the people who run the area
Taking the motorhome into the centre is not worth it: narrow streets, few parking places and a ZTL usually active from 7:00 to 19:00

Seeing

Sights

Five stops: the two Gonzaga palaces, the squares of the centre, the ring of lakes and a rococo theatre, all reachable on foot or by bicycle from the parking areas. Tap a marker on the map to open its entry below.

Palazzo Ducale and the Castello di San Giorgio

Monument · paid entry · 45.16089, 10.79840

one of the largest architectural complexes in Europe, more than 500 rooms among courtyards, gardens and galleries, with the main entrance in Piazza Sordello. Here the Gonzaga lived and governed, calling Mantegna, Pisanello, Tintoretto and Titian to their court. Look for the Sala degli Arcieri, the apartments of Isabella d'Este and the rooms of Giulio Romano. In the Castello di San Giorgio, joined to the palace, is the Camera degli Sposi, painted by Andrea Mantegna between 1465 and 1474, with the family portraits, the court scenes and the oculus on the ceiling: numbers are limited and the ticket is a separate one, so book ahead, above all at the weekend. For the palace allow at least two or three hours.

To be checked on the official website

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Palazzo Te

Monument · paid entry · 45.14761, 10.78648

the Mannerist masterpiece of Giulio Romano, built between 1524 and 1534 for Federico II Gonzaga as a villa of delights away from the court. Outside, broken symmetries, Doric pilasters and blind windows; inside, the frescoes of Giulio Romano and his workshop. The Sala di Amore e Psiche tells the myth among divine banquets and alchemical symbols, and the Sala dei Giganti is a fresco right round the room, on the fight between Zeus and the Giants, that closes in on whoever walks in. The palace also holds the Museo Civico and temporary exhibitions. Allow an hour and a half or two hours at least; early morning and late afternoon keep you clear of the school groups. From the centre it is 15 minutes on foot, or there is the free shuttle.

To be checked on the official website

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Piazza Sordello and Piazza Erbe

Square · free entry · 45.16004, 10.79687

Piazza Sordello is the largest and the most solemn, cobbled, named after the troubadour poet Sordello da Goito: onto it face Palazzo Ducale with the Palazzo del Capitano, the Duomo, the Palazzo Vescovile, Palazzo Bonacolsi, today Castiglioni, and the Torre della Gabbia. There is also the bronze statue of Rigoletto, the court jester of Verdi's opera, which is set here. The Duomo has a late Baroque front, a Romanesque bell tower, a coffered ceiling and the Gonzaga buried in the crypts below. A few steps away Piazza Erbe is smaller and busier, with arcades, cafés and old shops, and around it the Palazzo della Ragione with its crenellated front, the Torre dell'Orologio of 1493 with the astronomical clock of Bartolomeo Manfredi, and the Rotonda di San Lorenzo, the oldest church in the city, from 1082, built in the image of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem. You can climb the Torre dell'Orologio, and it is included in the Mantova Card.

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The three lakes and the lotus flowers

Viewpoint · free entry · 45.16264, 10.77497

three artificial lakes, made in the twelfth century by regulating the course of the Mincio, close in the historic centre: Lago Superiore to the north, Lago di Mezzo and Lago Inferiore to the south. Between July and August thousands of lotus flowers open on the Lago Superiore and the water turns pink and green; you can see it from the road, but the best way is the boat trip with the Barcaioli del Mincio, who leave from the pier at Grazie di Curtatone and take one or two hours. The viewpoint is the San Giorgio bridge, which crosses the Lago di Mezzo and links the centre to the Sparafucile area: from there towers, bell towers and domes are mirrored in the water, at sunset above all. The cycle path along the lakes is flat and shaded.

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Teatro Bibiena

Monument · paid entry · 45.15790, 10.79812

also called the Teatro Scientifico, designed by Antonio Galli Bibiena and opened in 1769, it stands in via Accademia a few steps from Piazza Sordello. A bell-shaped plan, boxes on four tiers, gilded stucco, Corinthian columns and frescoed vaults. In January 1770 Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart played here, fourteen years old at the time, during his first journey through Italy. Today it holds chamber music concerts, events and guided visits: 20 to 30 minutes are enough. Admission is included in the Mantova Card, and the opening hours change with the season.

To be checked on the official website

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When

Events

Festivaletteratura

September

an international literature festival; for five days squares, courtyards, cloisters and historic palaces host meetings with writers, readings, performances and debates. It is the time when the city is at its most crowded and at its most alive.

Antichissima Fiera delle Grazie and the Madonnari competition

15 August

one of the oldest fairs in Italy, in the hamlet of Grazie di Curtatone. The heart of it is the national competition of the Madonnari, who draw in chalk on the forecourt of the sanctuary of the Grazie. During the fair the Grazie motorhome area stays closed.

Lotus flower bloom

July and August

not an organised event but a fixed appointment: the Lago Superiore fills with lotus flowers. The boat trips leave from the pier at Grazie di Curtatone and are worth booking.

Remember

Useful tips

A full day is enough for the historic centre, but the museums at a slow pace, the boat trip and Festivaletteratura take two or three days
The Mantova Sabbioneta Card costs 20 euros, is good for 72 hours and covers Palazzo Ducale, apart from the Camera degli Sposi which has a ticket of its own, Palazzo Te, the Museo di Palazzo San Sebastiano, the Torre dell'Orologio, the Teatro Bibiena and the museums of Sabbioneta. It is sold at the ticket office of Palazzo Ducale and at the main museums
Spring and autumn have the best weather; summer is hot and humid but it is the season of the lotus flowers, and winter is cold and foggy
The ZTL of the historic centre is a wide one and is usually active from 7:00 to 19:00: read the signs before you go near it with the motorhome. Sparafucile and Grazie both lie outside
The centre also has paid public car parks, among them the Parcheggio Te and the Parcheggio Anconetta, with no motorhome services at all and fit only for short daytime stops: we have no reliable coordinates for them, so find them on the map before you set off
What to bring: the bicycles, because the cycle paths along the lakes are the right way to get around; comfortable shoes for the cobbles; in summer mosquito repellent, since near the lakes there is no shortage of them; in winter warm clothing
Pumpkin tortelli are on the menu in nearly every trattoria: among the old addresses are Osteria dell'Oca, Trattoria Cento Rampini and Aquila Nigra
Nearby, Sabbioneta, also a UNESCO site, is 30 km away, and Castellaro Lagusello is one of the most beautiful villages in Italy

Mantua · part two

and then?

What to taste, and where to go tomorrow.

Taste

The most typical dish, to cook again at home.

Tortelli di zucca mantovani · ingredients for 6 people

1 kg of Mantuan pumpkin, or delica, for the filling
160 g of dry amaretti
160 g of Mantuan apple or pear mostarda
180 g of grated Grana Padano
nutmeg
salt
600 g of plain flour for the pasta
6 eggs
1 pinch of salt for the pasta
80 g of butter for the dressing
fresh sage leaves
grated Grana Padano to finish

Method

cut the pumpkin into thick slices, take out the seeds and bake it at 180 degrees for about an hour, covered with foil, until the flesh is soft; let it cool a little, take off the skin and mash the flesh with a ricer or a fork
in a bowl mix the pumpkin puree with the amaretti crushed fine, the chopped mostarda, the Grana Padano, a grating of nutmeg and a pinch of salt, until the filling is smooth and firm; rest it in the fridge for an hour at least, better overnight
heap the flour on the board, break the eggs into the middle with a pinch of salt and knead until the dough is smooth and elastic; wrap it in cling film and let it rest for 30 minutes at room temperature
roll the dough very thin with a rolling pin or a pasta machine, cut it into squares of 6 or 7 cm, put a teaspoon of filling in the middle of each one, fold into a triangle or a half moon and seal the edges well, pressing with your fingers
bring salted water to the boil and meanwhile melt the butter in a wide pan with a few sage leaves; cook the tortelli for 1 or 2 minutes, lift them out with a slotted spoon straight into the melted butter, toss them for a few seconds and serve with grated Grana Padano

60 more local recipes, region by region

Nearby

The next stop, ordered by driving time.

the Ponte Visconteo lit up at night, the crenellated tower and the foaming weir on the Mincio

Borghetto sul Mincio

Veneto · Historic villages · overnight stay · 27 km

37minutes

Distances and times by road, measured with OSRM on OpenStreetMap data.

Looking

Mantua in photographs

14 shots from our visit. Tap one to see it large.

motorhomes on the grass and gravel pitches of the Sparafucile service area, among bare poplars

jars of Mantuan mostarda in a shop window in the old town: fig, cherry, citron and mixed fruit

the Torre dell'Orologio and the Rotonda di San Lorenzo in Piazza Erbe, on a foggy morning

the brick interior of the Rotonda di San Lorenzo, the upper gallery and the traces of fresco below the dome

the gilded coffered vault of the basilica of Sant'Andrea above the nave, and the statues on the wall

the frescoed dome of the basilica of Sant'Andrea, seen from where the nave crosses the transept

the octagonal balustrade at the centre of the basilica of Sant'Andrea, above the crypt that holds the Sacred Vessels

our daughter under the portico of the Pescherie di Giulio Romano, with the fog at the end of the street

the bell tower of San Domenico, all that is left of the church, in the gardens that carry its name

the Rio between the houses of the old town, the still water and the fog down the canal

our glass of red at the Corte Barco farm, in the hall under the arched windows

our daughter reaches out to the two donkeys in the stable at the Corte Barco farm

our cat Louis, who travels with us, is introduced to the farm's donkey