There should be a rule about not visiting two palaces in one day. That is precisely what I did today and the images are confused in my mind. This morning was the 450 room ducal palace of the Gonzaga family; this afternoon their pleasure palace, Palazzo Te. Palazzo Te had amazingly painted ceilings, as did the ducal palace, but the ceiling award had to go to Palazzo Te.
In the ducal palace a room in the medieval tower was painted by Mantegna showing scenes of Gongaza family betrothals — one way fortunes were made and preserved. The Ducal palace had eight courtyards, each beautifully planted; and the building and decoration of the ducal palace spanned several centuries. Palazzo Te was built over a couple of generations, with some exceptions, so it presented a more harmonious design.
Mantua was once surrounded by four interconnecting lakes. The lake that separated Palazzo Te from the city was filled in some time ago. As in the case of medieval cities there were once many large towers, for family defense and showing off/protecting family wealth. In the tower below criminals condemned to death were kept in the holding cell cage on the right side of the tower until the executioner could get around to them. I suspect many died before they saw the executioner.
