Oltrepò Mantua is a sub-region belonging to the Lombardy.
To know
The vast countryside of the Mantuan Oltrepò, scattered with centers characterized by the unmistakable Gonzaga urban style, owe to their belonging to the State of the lords of Mantua also the belonging to the Lombardy region, despite the geographical location south of the Po that would geologically Emilian.
Geographical notes
The Po marks its maximum extension to the north; the southern border, on the other hand, is not marked with as much evidence by geological characteristics, but follows the administrative boundaries of the municipalities that make up the area.
2012 earthquake
In January 2012 and in the following month of May 2012 strong earthquakes struck a large area of theEmilia seriously damaging numerous centers of the Po Valley of Emilia between the Autostrada del Sole and the course of the Po, especially in the areas of Modena and the neighboring areas of Ferrara and Reggio, also involving the Oltrepò Mantua, belonging to the Lombardy but orographically part of theEmilia. The earthquake, which in Emilia it also cost numerous victims, in the Oltrepò it hit the historic centers of numerous cities causing collapses, subsidence and injuries in churches and ancient monuments and damaging many others. The centers most affected were Wife, Pegognaga, San Giacomo delle Segnate, Poggio Rusco, Quistello, Gonzaga, San Giovanni del Dosso.
Suggested readings
"Gonzaga itineraries" by Leandro Zoppè - Itinera Edizioni - A well-written and documented book with admirable photographs, deals with 43 smaller towns of the Duchy of Mantua, presenting their historical and urban path under the Gonzaga dynasty.
Territories and tourist destinations
Oltrepò Mantua: full-screen map.Each city or small town of the Oltrepò (like the other lands of the Duchy of Mantua) retains characteristics, urban structure and Gonzaga monuments: San Benedetto Po, Sermide, Revere, Quistello, Felonica, Parish church of Coriano, Poggio Rusco, Quingentole is Gonzaga.
Urban centers
- Borgo Mantovano - New municipality from 1 January 2018, following the merger between Revere, Parish church of Coriano is Villa Poma.
- Borgocarbonara
- Ostiglia
- Parish church of Coriano - In these Matildic lands the parish church of the town is one of the many that Matilde di Canossa had built in her vast estates. Remarkable are the remains of frescoes; the momentum of the tall bell tower is astonishing.
- Revere - The Ducal Palace of Gonzaga recalls that, after the numerous traces left in these lands by the Countess Matilde with the Parish churches, the Gonzagas kept the Oltrepò for many centuries and in each of its villages they intervened to design the urban planning, now equipping them with palaces, now of pleasure villas, now of fortifications.
- San Benedetto Po - The Polirone Abbey perpetuates the memory of Matilde di Canossa, the Grand Countess which linked the name of the town to its fame. The majesty and beauty of the church and the convent structures, combined with the wide breadth of the square, make it a destination of great interest.
- Sermide - On the right bank of the Po, it preserves Matildic traces and Gonzaga remains of fortifications and villas.
- Sustinente
- Suzzara - Most populous city in the Oltrepò, it is an important industrial center. It preserves an original nucleus of characteristic low Gonzaga-style arcades, typical of the rural centers of their possessions.
How to get
How to get around
By bike
 | To learn more, see: Cycle tourism in Lombardy. |
What see
- 1 Ducal Palace (to Revere). Wanted by Ludovico II Gonzaga, it was built between 1444 and 1478 on the site of the ancient fortifications of the 12th century, of which the tower remains, which stands isolated in the lawn of the Palace. The work is signed by Luca Fancelli and represents the first work of this artist in the Gonzaga area. He was responsible for the softening of the defensive and military features of the ancient castle, with the insertion of large residential windows in the main facade, a portal with characteristic Florentine lines with fluted pilasters and Corinthian capitals. The high fireplaces that adorn the building have Venetian-inspired features and make the appearance of the palace singular. modification
- On the main floor it is believed that there have been interventions by Mantegna; the continuous alterations do not however allow us to know what the original internal system was like. Majestic is the courtyard with a double column colonnade and barrel vaults. The whole building has a characteristic use of marble combined with brick.
- 2 Monastic complex of the Polirone (to San Benedetto Po). It is a vast monastic complex that occupies the heart of the ancient city. Founded by Tedaldo di Canossa, grandfather of the most famous Countess Matilde, it was a center of great political and cultural importance. Its structure includes three cloisters: that of the Secolari, that of San Simeone and that of San Benedetto. The largest cloister was rebuilt by Giulio Romano on commission from Guido Gonzaga. In the Refectory of the monks, built in 1478, Correggio painted the architecture that housed aLast Supper by Girolamo Bonsignori, from Verona, painted on canvas which is now in the Civic Museum of Badia Polesine.
- The large abbey church of the monastic complex of Polirone is the result of the reconstruction of the previous church rebuilt by Giulio Romano (a pupil of Raphael, artist of the Gonzaga Court and creator of Palazzo Te in Mantua among other things) between 1540 and 1545. The church preserves, between the transept and the sacristy, the funeral monument of Matilde di Canossa. consisting of an alabaster sarcophagus supported by four red marble lions. The Grand Countess had benefited from the monastery during her lifetime with significant bequests, and had left disposition to be buried in the Abbey. The tomb kept Matilda's remains until 1633, when the Pope had her mortal remains transferred to St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican, where they are buried in a mausoleum by Bernini.
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- 3 Parish church of Santa Maria Assunta (to Parish church of Coriano). Of ancient Matildic foundation (1082), the parish conserves significant remains of frescoes that can still be admired on the walls of the apses and on the side walls. For the most part they are Renaissance frescoes: Santa Agnese, San Rocco and San Sebastiano, Christ in glory surrounded by the symbols of the Evangelists, Sant'Antonio, Santa Lucia and numerous other figures of saints.
- An apse preserves the traditional Christ Pantocrator contained in the almond, a sixteenth-century work like a Madonna and Child. A Christ Pantocrator is also depicted in the apse of the main altar, and is the only surviving fresco of a cycle of more ancient representations dating back to the 12th century. The Crucifix is a work of the sixteenth century in carved wood that still preserves some parts covered with a layer of gold leaf; the great expressiveness of the still dying face of Christ is noteworthy.
Itineraries
- The Mantuan Oltrepò is part of the Mantuan Truffle Road, a path of food and wine tourism promotion, about 130 kilometers long and recognized by the Lombardy Region, which winds through the province of Mantua on a territory of 12 municipalities, including: Quingentole, Parish church of Coriano, Borgofranco sul Po, Carbonara di Po, Sermide, Revere, Felonica, Magnacavallo, Villa Poma, Poggio Rusco, San Giacomo delle Segnate is Quistello. The route is intertwined with other tourist itineraries in the area: Route of Mantuan Wines and Flavors is Route of Rice and Risotto Mantovani.
- In the lands of the Gonzaga - An itinerary through the centers, large and small, which were the capitals of the Gonzaga cadet branches: principalities, marquisates, duchies which, within the Mantuan state structure, enjoyed real independence, often minted coins and held refined courts that rivaled that of Mantua, embellished their urban centers by equipping them with elegant architecture - churches, squares, palaces, walls, towers - and characteristic urban views such as the typical Gonzaga arcades.
- Historic villages of the Po - The itinerary, from west to east or vice versa, leads to know some historic villages that rise near the "great river".
- Matildic churches in the Mantuan Oltrepò - The itinerary goes to the discovery of the churches and oratories that were built between the 11th and 12th centuries by Canossa, whose most representative exponent was the Grand Countess Matilde of Canossa.
What to do
At the table
Safety
Other projects
Wikipedia contains an entry concerning Oltrepò Mantua
