Sabbioneta - Sabbioneta

Sabbioneta is a city of Lombardy in the province of Mantua.

To know

Fortress city also known as the little Athens, together with Mantua in 2008 it was declared by UNESCO World Heritage.
It is included among the most beautiful villages in Italy and has been awarded the orange flag by the Italian Touring Club. By decree of the President of the Republic on 28 January 2019, Sabbioneta has been awarded the title of city.

Geographical notes

The inhabited area is located in the stretch of the Po valley between the municipalities of Casalmaggiore, Commessage, Rivarolo del Re and United, Spineda is Viadana, in the area of Bassa del Po di Lombardia known as Oglio Po.

Its hamlets are: Breda Cisoni, Ca 'de Cessi, Commessaggio Inferiore, Dossi, Ponteterra, Vigoreto and Villa Pasquali.

When to go

All the year. But the best times are at the beginning of October, when the first mists envelop all the monuments of the "ideal city" and in winter, with few tourists, when it seems to go back to the time of Vespasiano Gonzaga.

Background

Already a possession of the Abbey of Leno, in 1444 it passed to the cadet branch of the Gonzaga di Sabbioneta and Bozzolo. It boasts considerable historical importance for having been founded by Vespasiano Gonzaga Colonna between 1554 and 1591 and was the capital of the homonymous Duchy. Vespasiano was able to build one of the most beautiful towns of the Italian Renaissance, establishing a civil and military order. He endowed it with an academy, a museum, a library and a mint. After his death, which took place in 1591, a long succession event dismembered the duchy, which in 1708 was incorporated into the Duchy of Guastalla. In 1746 Sabbioneta passed to the House of Austria. In 1806 Napoleon reunited Sabbioneta and Guastalla in one principality.

The Duchy of Sabbioneta

The Duchy of Sabbioneta it was an ancient Italian state of comital origin limited to the present-day municipality of Sabbioneta, built by imperial appointment in 1577 and initially governed by Vespasiano Gonzaga. It bordered to the west with the Duchy of Milan, ruled by a Spanish governor since 1535; to the south, beyond the Po, with the Duchy of Parma and Piacenza administered by the Farnese, to the north-east with the Duchy of Mantua dominated by the Gonzagas, but autonomous from them. Vespasiano between 1554 and 1556 began the transformation of the ancient village into a military stronghold, fortifying it with walls and taking care of its urban development: he built palaces, churches and other monuments of artistic value. The imperial decree recognized him the right to mint coins and, probably in the premises of the old castle, the duke fixed the seat of the mint which began its activity in 1562. On November 18, 1577 the emperor Rudolph II granted Vespasian the elevation of Sabbioneta to independent duchy. On February 26, 1591, Vespasian died and Isabella, his only surviving daughter, succeeded him in the government of the duchy. The Duchess, however, paid little attention to the fiefdom (she appointed a vicar), having the precious furnishings and objects collected by her father transferred to Milan and Naples, where she usually lived. Between 1630 and 1637 both Isabella and her husband Luigi Carafa della Stadera disappeared, leaving the citadel of Sabbioneta (without ducal title) to her niece Anna Carafa della Stadera, who was replaced in 1644 by the heir Nicola María de Guzmán Carafa, last descendant of Vespasiano Gonzaga, who ruled it until 1689. The Sabbione territory passed to the Spanish governorate of Milan who, in 1693, sold it to the Genoese Francesco Maria Spinola. Finally, in 1703, Sabbioneta was ceded to the Gonzagas of Guastalla who incorporated it into their "State" until 1746 with Giuseppe Maria Gonzaga. In 1747 the Duchy of Guastalla was annexed by the Habsburgs of Austria to the Holy Roman Empire.

The Jewish community of Sabbioneta

July 22, 1436 is the date of birth of the Sabbionetan Jewish community, which reached phases of considerable development in the five hundred years of its stay in the ducal city, until its members gradually moved to the big cities, in particular to Milan. Bonaiuto and Bonaventura da Pisa were the first two Jews authorized, on that distant 22 July, to open a loan bank in Sabbioneta, at the behest of Gianfrancesco Gonzaga. Here the members of the community dedicated themselves, in addition to financial activities, to the printing house, which in 1554 gave birth to the last Italian printing of the Talmud.

Among the Jewish families of Sabbioneta, the Forts and Foà stood out above all; to the latter family belongs the famous actor Arnoldo Foà who recently passed away, but also the doctor Pio Foà, precursor of the fight against tuberculosis and cancer, who was Senator of the Kingdom of Italy. The Sabbionetan Jews never had a ghetto, since the Duke Vespasiano Gonzaga ordered them to live mixed with the Catholic inhabitants.

The community had at least three synagogues in succession; the current one was the last, consecrated in 1824. Having fallen into neglect in the twentieth century, it was restored in the last decades of the same century, and partially refurbished with donations from the Jewish community of Mantua. The Jewish cemetery, located outside the city in Borgofreddo, has 49 tombstones; also fallen into neglect, it has been restored and can now be visited on request to the Pro loco di Sabbioneta, which is in charge of its conservation and maintenance. The last burial bears the date of 1937 on the plaque, and concerns a Forti who emigrated to Milan, who nevertheless wanted to return from dead to his native land. The volume "The garden of the Jews, Jewish cemeteries of Mantua", published in 2008 by the Giunti publishing house in Florence, dedicates space to the Sabbione cemetery and transcribes all the funeral inscriptions.

How to orient yourself

• 44.9975710.489411 Tourist Office, Piazza d'Armi (Garden Palace), ☎ 39 0375 52039, @[email protected]. From April to October: Mon-Fri 09: 30-13: 00 and 14: 30-18: 00 Sat-Sun: 09: 30-13: 00 and 14: 30-18: 30 Closed Mondays (except holidays). From November to March: Mon-Fri 09: 30-13: 00 and 14: 30-17.00 Sat-Sun: 09: 30-13: 00/14: 30-17.30 Mon closed (except holidays). The Office sells all tickets for the monuments of the city: combined tickets to Palazzo Giardino / Galleria, Teatro all'Antica, Palazzo Ducale, Synagogue cost € 12. There is also a separate ticket for the Church of the Beata Vergine Incoronata and Mausoleum by Vespasiano Gonzaga (€ 2). 

Brochure with daily itineraries.^{[link not working]}

• Piazza Ducale, with the Ducal Palace.
• Piazza d'Armi, with the Garden Palace and the Gallery of the Ancients.

Neighborhoods

In addition to the capital city, its municipal territory also includes the hamlets of Breda Cisoni (with the parish church of San Giorgio), Ca 'de Cessi, Commessaggio Inferiore (a center shared with Commessage, Ponteterra, Villa Pasquali (with the prestigious parish church of Bibiena).

How to get

By plane

The nearest airports are:

• 45.6661869.7018082 Bergamo-Orio al Serio Airport (the Caravaggio), Via Aeroporto 13, Orio al Serio, ☎ 39 035 326323. 
• 45.39666710.8877783 Verona Airport (Catullus), Boxes of Sommacampagna, ☎ 39 045 8095666, @[email protected]. 
• 44.821810.296034 Parma airport (G. Verdi), Via Emilia - Golese locality, ☎ 39 0521 951511. 
• 44.5352811.291165 Bologna airport (G.Marconi), Via Triumvirato 84, ☎ 39 051 6479615. 

By car

Sabbioneta is crossed by the state road 420 Sabbionetana and by the provincial road 62.
Possibility of free parking.

• A22 motorway: Mantova exit: follow the signs towards Parma
• A1 motorway: Parma exit: follow the signs towards Colorno - Casalmaggiore - Mantova
• A21 motorway: Cremona exit: follow the signs towards Casalmaggiore and from here Sabbioneta

On the train

• 45.15856710.7833696 Mantua station, Don Leoni square (director Verona Porta Nuova-Mantua, Modena-Mantua, Milan Central-Cremona-Mantua, Monselice-Mantua). Direct trains once a day from Bologna Centrale, Parma and Venice Mestre. 
• 44.9931410.424997 Casalmaggiore station, Via Mazzini, 68 (Parma-Brescia director.). 1 pair of trains a day also on the Mantua-Piadena-Parma connection 
• 45.1072210.472698 Bozzolo station, Don Leoni square (Mantua-Piadena director.). 3 direct couples without changes on the Milano Centrale - Cremona - Mantua connection during peak hours; in the soft ones, connections are foreseen in Piadena for Cremona and Milano Centrale. 

By bus

• APAM, line 17: Mantova-Sabbioneta-Viadana
• TOE, line 2812: Parma Sabbioneta

How to get around

By public transport

• APAM, line 17: Mantova-Sabbioneta-Viadana
• TOE, line 2812: Parma Sabbioneta

By bike

Cycling itinerary in the surroundings:

Viadana/Pomponesco: road embankment. Correggio Verde: road embankment. Villastrada: road embankment. Cavallara: road embankment. Cizzolo: road embankment. San Matteo delle Chiaviche: S.P. 57. Torre D'Oglio: pontoon bridge, S.P. 57 and embankment road. Scorzarolo: road embankment. Borgoforte: S.P. 54. Boccadiganda: S.P. 54 and embankment road. San Nicolò Po: S.P. 54. San Giacomo Po: S.P. 54 and embankment road. Correggio Micheli: embankment road and municipal road. Governolo: Conca di San Leone.

What see

• 44.9995610.489561 Ducal Palace, Piazza Ducale. It was built, based on a design by Paolo Tusardi, in 1568 with a portico on the ground floor and a turret in the center of the building. The façade was embellished in 1569 and adorned with frescoes, which have now disappeared. Inside all the halls (Hall of the Guards, Gallery of the Ancestors, Hall of the Darts, Golden Room, with ceiling painted in pure gold) are with carved wooden ceilings and decorated with stucco. There are four equestrian statues from 1587, works attributed to Lorenzo Bregno, and five wooden busts representing the ancestors of Vespasiano Gonzaga.  

• 44.9997110.489712 Incoronata Church, Via dell'Incoronata. With an octagonal plan, it was built in 1588. Inside there is the mausoleum of Vespasiano Gonzaga by Della Porta, with its bronze statue by Leone Leoni, which was originally located in Palazzo Ducale.  
• 44.9980110.490523 Gallery of the Ancients, Piazza d'Armi. It is part of the Palazzo del Giardino, from 1577. Ninety meters long and supported by a series of underlying arches. It was built in the period 15883-1584 to contain a collection of Greek-Roman statues and tombstones. 
• 44.99888910.4891674 Olympic or Antica Theater. It is the masterpiece of Vincenzo Scamozzi, from 1588. It is considered as the first building of a closed theater with a fixed stage. Today, musical performances are held inside.  

• 44.9992210.490565 Church of Santa Maria Assunta, Piazza Ducale. From 1581, inside the chapel of the Sacred Heart, the work of Antonio Bibiena and numerous paintings by Renaissance artists. 
• 44.9998210.487196 Church of San Rocco. From the second half of the 16th century. 
• 44.9973210.489567 Garden Palace (Tourism Office), Piazza d'Armi 1, ☎ 39 0375 52039, fax: 39 0375 52039, @[email protected]. 5 €. 09: 30-13: 00 and 14: 30-17: 00. Built between 1577 and 1588 for the pleasures of Duke Vespasiano Gonzaga, it has numerous luxurious rooms inside decorated by students of Giulio Romano. It has a rectangular plan with a very simple facade and an Italian garden on the back with the remains of numerous fountains. On the ground floor there are the Hall of Mars, the Room of the Winds and the Dressing room of Venus, with frescoes by Barnardino Campo. Upstairs the Camerino dei Cesari and the Hall of the Olympics with grotesques by students of Giulio Romano, the Hall of Myths, the Room of Aeneas and the big one Hall of Mirrors. From this floor you have access to the Gallery of the Ancients. 

• 44.9998610.487678 Porta Vittoria. One of the two gateways to the city. 
• 44.99631510.4926849 Imperial Gate. Built in 1579, it is one of the two access gates to the city. 

• 44.99861110.48611110 Ancient walls. Equipped with six bastions, they were erected to defend the city. 

At Villa Pasquali

• Parish Church of Sant'Antonio Abate. Built in the second half of the eighteenth century, the church was designed by Antonio Luigi Galli da Bibiena, a famous architect of the time. The Rococo-style building shows a central entrance in the façade divided into two orders, Tuscan and Corinthian. The original project involved the construction of two towers; only one was made.

The interior has a single nave, with two side chapels on the left and two others on the right. The high blue and double dome (33 meters) dominates the building imposingly. Bibiena himself put his hand to the interior decorations, which were then continued by Pietro Groppi and Giuseppe Cremaschi. The late nineteenth century altarpiece is due to the Cremonese painter Agostino Amadini, while the Via Crucis is the work of Francesco Chiozzi of Casalmaggiore, the fresco of the Annunciation by Giovanni Morini di Viadana.

The church is equipped with a Cavalletti organ from 1841.

The earthquake ofEmilia in 2012 caused damage to the building, which therefore remained closed for earthquake-proof restorations and consolidations, in particular in the area of ​​the presbytery and the apse. The works, with the consequent reopening of the temple, were completed in 2016. 

Events and parties

• 44.9991910.490049 Antiques Fair (in the streets of the center). Every first Sunday of the month except January and August. 
• 44.9991910.4900410 Orange Flags Day. In October of every year. 

What to do

• Visit Mantua and Sabbioneta (with the Mantova-Sabbioneta bus line), ☎ 39 0376 230 339, @[email protected]. Service hours. Telephone hours: Mon-Thu 7: 30-17: 00; Fri 7: 30-16: 00; Sat 7: 30-12: 00. On weekdays the connection between Mantua and Sabbioneta is guaranteed by the Interurban Line 17 APAM. Line 17 does not pass through the historic center of Mantua but it is possible to reach the stops concerned through the Circular Line (Urban Lines) 

Shopping

Furniture and antiques in the numerous antique shops in the historic center.

• 44.9991410.490051 Evening market (Every Thursday from 5th June to 11th July). Small antiques, hobby, crafts, collecting, modern antiques, curiosities and objects. 

How to have fun

Shows

• White Night in Sabbioneta (In the streets of the center). In September. 

Where to eat

Average prices

• 45.0320210.54581 Antica Corte Restaurant, Via Commessaggio Inferiore 32, ☎ 39 0375 254108. 
• 44.9979610.490382 Osteria La Dispensa, Via della Galleria 3, ☎ 39 0375 221107. 
• 45.0141110.510183 Corte Bondeno restaurant, Via Mezzana Loria, ☎ 39 345 8012912. 
• 44.9975610.513384 La Conchiglia Restaurant, Via Mott 4, ☎ 39 0375 220339. 
• 44.9980410.490545 Ducale Restaurant Pizzeria, Via Vespasiano Gonzaga 28, ☎ 39 0375 52010. 
• 44.9974110.491516 Al Duca Restaurant, Via della Stamperia 18, ☎ 39 0375 52474. 
• 44.9940210.492437 Hot Table Station, Via Anna d'Aragona 1, ☎ 39 0375 52482. 

Where stay

Moderate prices

Parking areas for campers

• 44.99383910.4878981 ^{[link not working]}Sabbioneta rest area, Via Vespasiano Gonzaga 28 (The area is located in via Piccola Atene, on the side of Via A. De Gasperi, which you take by turning at the intersection on the SP 420 Parma-Mantova at 300 m. from the historic center.), ☎ 39 0375 52010. The equipped area is equipped with water, drainage well and lighting. The space is large and can accommodate numerous vehicles. It is possible to stop in other areas located near the walls. 

Average prices

• 44.9974110.491512 Al Duca Hotel, Via della Stamperia 18, ☎ 39 0375 52474, fax: 39 0375 220021, @[email protected]. 
• 44.998110.49073 Giulia Gonzaga hotel, Via Vespasiano Gonzaga 65, ☎ 39 0375 529169, fax: 39 0375 529169. 
• 45.0012610.491644 Bed & Breakfast Da Nina, Via Pesenti 40, ☎ 39 0375 52626, fax: 39 0375 52626, @[email protected]. 
• 44.9967310.491935 Luna Residence House, Via Colonna, ☎ 39 0375 201421, @[email protected]. 

Safety

In case of emergency contact:

• Police at 39 0375 52045
• Tourist Police at 39 0375 221008

How to keep in touch

Post office

• 44.9987610.4895311 Post office, Via Vespasiano Gonzaga 17, ☎ 39 0375 220062. 

Around

• South Oglio Park
• Villa Pasquali, with the baroque parish church of Antonio Bibiena.
• Viadana - Capital of the Viadanese, its vast historical center, of good interest, thrives on Po Valley and Gonzaga atmospheres. The ring road avenues mark the route of the ancient disappeared walls; the arcaded streets of the center distinguish the city with the Gonzaga urban style.
• Pomponesco - City of foundation, it owes its sixteenth-century urban structure to Giulio Cesare Gonzaga in which the scenic porticoed square stands out, which connects with a staircase to the Po embankment, on which the archpriest church and the civic palace overlook on two sides unfortunately only a few traces of the castle remain on the fourth side.
• Mantua - Capital of the Gonzagas, it still exudes its subtle charm as a great city of art for which it appoints it a UNESCO World Heritage Site it was not so much a recognition as a necessary acknowledgment. Its ancient atmospheres are incomparable, the profiles of the palaces and domes that stand out in the Po Valley mist enveloped by the mirror of its lakes, its endless Gonzaga palace that incorporates numerous buildings in the city center.
• Casalmaggiore - Capital of Casalasco, protected by mighty embankments, the city develops parallel to the bed of the Po. The wide breath of the main square, the undeniable majesty of the Town Hall and the Cathedral reveal its character as an important center of the Bassa. The Sanctuary of the Madonna della Fontana, the church of Santa Chiara, the church of the Hospital are among its outstanding monuments.
• Colorno - Its Royal Palace belonged to the Sanseverino family, then to the Farnese family, to Maria Luigia of Austria, to the Bourbons; it is by far the most important monument of this little Versailles Parma, which also offers a small but beautiful historic center, close to the Lorno stream that gives it its name and Parma, not far from the Po.
• Parma - One of the major cities of art inEmilia, it maintains with great evidence the aspect, elegance and ways of life of a capital, as it was for centuries. The Farnese della Pilotta palace, the Romanesque Cathedral, the Steccata church are some of the monumental emergencies that characterize the city; of great fame his theater, his musical tradition (Giuseppe Verdi), his school of painting (Correggio, Parmigianino), his love for good food (Parma ham, salami, Parmigiano Reggiano, Lambrusco).
• Cremona - It has a monumental historic center - the Cathedral, the Baptistery, the Town Hall - one of the most distinguished in Lombardy. It was a Roman city. It was powerful at the time of the Communes and rivaled Milan, which finally subdued it. His violins (Stradivari and Amati), his Torrazzo and even more his torrone, are known everywhere.
• Naturalistic path of the Arginelli

Itineraries

• Sabbioneta is part of the Route of Mantuan Wines and Flavors, a path of food and wine tourism promotion, about 300 kilometers long and recognized by the Lombardy Region, which winds through the province of Mantua on a territory of 41 municipalities, including: Castiglione delle Stiviere, Buttonhole, Curtatone, Viadana, Mantua, Bagnolo San Vito, San Benedetto Po, Quistello, Gonzaga, San Giacomo delle Segnate, Poggio Rusco, Ostiglia, Goito, Volta Mantovana, Monzambano, Bridges over the Mincio is Cavriana. The route is intertwined with other tourist itineraries in the area: Route of Rice and Risotto Mantovani is Mantuan Truffle Road.
• In the lands of the Gonzagas - 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.
• Rice road - The itinerary - to be carried out in particular from May to September - runs through the Mantua area dedicated to the cultivation of rice, between rivers and canals.
• 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".

Useful information

With Mantova Card (cost € 20 adults and € 8 family), available for purchase in the infopoints and museums of Mantua (in Sabbioneta: Tourist Office, Piazza d'Armi 1) and also online, it is possible to visit museums and monuments of Mantua and Sabbioneta at advantageous prices. Card duration 72 hours from the day of first use.

• Oglio Po Hospital, Via Staffolo 51 (in Casalmaggiore), ☎ 39 0375 2811. 
• Pharmacy, Piazza Ducale 29, ☎ 39 0375 52058. 

Other projects

• Wikipedia contains an entry concerning Sabbioneta
• Commons contains images or other files on Sabbioneta
• Wikiquote contains quotes from or on Sabbioneta

Usable : the article respects the characteristics of a draft but in addition it contains enough information to allow a short visit to the city. Use i correctly listing (the right type in the right sections).