Saint George Castle

History

It was built between 1395 and 1406 on the ruins of the church of Santa Maria di Capo di Bove for Francesco I Gonzaga, to designs by Bartolino da Novara. Ludovico III Gonzaga gave over his rooms in the "Corte Vecchia" to pope Pius II for the Council of Mantua in 1459 - that year, he commissioned Luca Fancelli to rebuild the castle as a palazzo rather than as a defensible castle. He also commissioned the frescoes of the castle Camera degli Sposi. In 1490 the castle became the site of the studiolo of Isabella d'Este, remaining there until she moved it to the "Corte Vecchia" in 1519-1522. In 1496 the condottiero Paolo Vitelli was captured by Francesco II and imprisoned in the castle. It remained the main Gonzaga residence for around a century until Guglielmo Gonzaga moved his apartments to the rebuilt "Corte Vecchia".

In 1810 the Tyrolean fighter Andreas Hofer was imprisoned in the castle before his execution by the Kingdom of Italy. Mantua became part of the Austrian Empire in 1814 and from 1815 it was a maximum security prison for the Empire's political opponents, such as the Belfiore martyrs from 1852 onwards. Others pro-Risorgimento figures imprisoned there included Ciro Menotti and Teresa Arrivabene. The building's structure was damaged by the 2012 Emilia earthquake.

Rooms

Sala dei Soli, ground floor, contains 15th century frescoes, redesigned by Giulio Romano in 1531 and then by Giovan Battista Bertani

Sala dello Zodiaco, with the remains of paintings by Giulio Romano, the room used to house Pietro Frattini, one of the Belfiore martyrs, and Ciro Menotti

Camera degli Sposi.

Scalone di Enea, designed by Bertani in 1549, just after his appointment as "Prefect of the Ducal Buildings" by cardinal Ercole Gonzaga, directly connects the castle's courtyard and loggiato with the Salone di Manto in the Ducal Palace