Free museums in Mantua – the Basilica of Sant’Andrea

FREE MUSEUMS IN MANTUA: A CHEAP VISIT TO THE CITY OF THE GONZAGA FAMILY

Free museum in Mantua. Mantua offers a lot of chances to visit it without spending a lot of money.
Mantua is a small and pretty city you can reach using public transport (I got there by train), as I wrote in my post with my journey to discover Mantua, but it also offers the opportunity to visit it spending only € 20, thanks to the MantovaCard.
I made the list of the main museums you can visit using it.

But that’s not all!

Here is the list of the free museums you can visit in Mantua during your low-cost cultural visit.
That is what I think it is worth seeing without spending any money.

Free Museum in Mantua – The Duomo, The Cathedral of Saint Peter the Apostle

The Duomo (The Cathedral of Saint Peter the Apostle)

The Duomo is located in Piazza Sordello (Sordello Square).
It has a late Baroque facade, a Gothic left side, and a Romanesque bell tower.
The interior was completely restored in 1545 by Giulio Romano, who left in Mantua the Te palace, an architectural and decorative masterwork.

READ ALSO: Giulio Romano, life and works.

Free museums in Mantua – the Teresiana Library

The Teresiana Library

The municipal Library was founded in 1780 by Maria Theresa of Habsburg and for this reason is named after her.
The rooms of the building are majestic and represent an important monument, together with the collection of books it contains.
In fact, the Teresiana Library is one of the main Italian libraries, which contains rare works, such as manuscripts, incunabula and the most important Jewish Kabbalistic set of documents in the world.

READ ALSO: Biblioteca Teresiana

Free museums in Mantua – Basilica Sant’Andrea interiors

The Basilica of Sant’Andrea

It is located on the site where, according to tradition, Saint Longinus, the soldier who lanced Jesus’ chest, hid the Blood of Christ.
The Basilica, as you see it now, was built on commission from Ludovico II of Gonzaga who, in 1472 ordered Leon Battista Alberti to restore the previous building.
The interior of the church has a single nave and large side chapels.
It houses the tomb of Andrea Mantegna and the crypt with the Sacred Vases containing the relic of the Blood of Christ.

Free museums in Mantua – Rotonda San Lorenzo

The Rotonda di San Lorenzo

This is the most ancient church in Mantua, and was built in 1082 on commission from Matilde di Canossa (Matilda of Tuscany).
It is circular in shape and resembles the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem.

The Norsa Torrazza Synagogue

It is the faithful copy of the ancient Norsa Torrazzo synagogue, which was located in the Jewish Ghetto in Mantua already in 1480.
This synagogue is the only one remained of six that were in Mantua.

Free museums in Mantua – Mantegna’s house

Mantegna’s house

The construction of Mantegna’s house began in 1476, and lasted several years.
Mantegna himself planned his house, which is a unique construction, whose shape is a circle inscribed within a square.
The rooms overlooking an internal courtyard house exhibitions of contemporary art.

READ ALSO: Musei Mantova

Free Museum in Mantua – The Cathedral of Saint Peter the Apostle

INFO
Tourist Information – Ufficio del Turismo di Mantova.

LINK
All events – Mantova2016
Social – #inLombardia365.