Overview
The stunning residence of the Gonzaga family and one of the most beautiful villas in Italy
Commissioned by Federico II of Gonzaga to the artist Giulio Romano between 1525 and 1535, Palazzo Te is a jewel of Mantua of inestimable beauty and cultural value.
Giulio Romano, who was a pupil of Italian painter Raphael, was tasked with transforming the site of the former stables of the Gonzaga family into an exclusive villa. Known as the “villa of leisure and recreation”, the son of Isabella D’Este and Francesco II Gonzaga organised lavish receptions there, as well as amorous encounters with his beloved Isabella Boschetti.
Inside Palazzo Te you can find the Hall of the Horses, used for ceremonies and receiving guests, the Room of Cupid and Psyche, where Frederick II of Gonzaga hosted only the most important guests, and, of course, the Chamber of the Giants. The latter is undoubtedly the most famous and spectacular of the entire residence, with its frescoes that depict Zeus’ defeat of the Giants. But it is the architecture itself that makes Palazzo Te one of the most beautiful villas in the whole of Italy, with increasingly smaller residences, like a sequence of Russian dolls, that gave rise to the birth of Mannerism.
