Rise and fall of a capital. The history of Mantua in the words of who wrote about it

By Daniele Lucchini

Following the historical documents with a scholar accuracy, the author of this booklet tells an original history of Mantua, a small town which was the capital of a tiny state and one of the most significant cultural centres in Europe during the Renaissance, and which rise and fall could be a paradigm of any human power.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Finisterrae
• Release date: Apr 22, 2014
• ISBN: 9781304996763

Book preview

Rise and Fall of a Capital

The history of Mantua in the words of who wrote about it

by Daniele Lucchini

Colophon

Finisterrae 36

First time in Italian: 2008

First time in English: 2013

On the cover: Giulio Romano, Sala dei Giganti, 1532-1535 (detail)

© 2013 Daniele Lucchini, Mantua, Italy. All rights reserved.

www.librifinisterrae.com

ISBN: 978-1-304-99676-3

« The past and the present are not mixed in Mantua like it happens anywhere else; they are neatly divided.

Mantua is an alive village enclosing a dead city ».

Guido Piovene, Viaggio in Italia

Preface

In this unpretentious booklet, we will try to come along the history of Mantua in an unusual way: we will not list duke names or battle dates, but run through the pages of travellers and ambassadors who wrote about the town in the centuries. Always respecting the historical exactitude, we will discover this way the less known aspects of the city life, the clichés – sometimes still existing – about its inhabitants, the court and common people daily life, the influence of climate on the economical and demographic development. An original history of this small town, which was the capital of a tiny state during the Renaissance, and which rise and fall could be a paradigm of any city history.

In this journey we will be guided by the voice of who has been visiting and living in Mantua during the centuries; we hope this way our narration may be more objective and respectful of the period international situation. And we hope so to avoid the trap of provincialism, which is so common when one talks about home.

We wish you a pleasant time with the adventure of Mantua.

The Author

February 2013

From the origins to the Middle Ages

The mythic foundation and the Roman ages

Archaeologists tell us that Mantua has been inhabited since prehistory: they have dug up several iron ages finds, and recently also a five thousand year old burial with two skeletons embracing each other – the so called Lovers of Mantua. [Note: They were found in February 2007 in Valdaro, just outside the centre of Mantua.]

As its location lays in the middle of Po Valley, during the 1st millennium BC it was often a cause of war between the Etruscans, expanding northwards, and the Gauls. According to archaeology, the Etruscans got the better and settled there till the Roman occupation, in late 3rd century BC.

With Rome, for the first time we can put Mantua on a map and see it being a part of history. Actually the most esteemed poet of Latin literature, Virgil, came from this small town. And Virgil himself told first the myth of the foundation of Mantua, summing up the turbulent and obscure pre-Roman period, and connecting it to the events of the war of Troy – which also the foundation of Rome he connected to. We read in the Aeneid:

« Ocnus was next, who led his native train

Of hardy warriors thro' the wat'ry plain:

The son of Manto by