Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume XI.djvu/137

 MANTUA 129 MANTUA (Ital. Mantovci). I. A K province of Italy, formerly included in Lombardy, but/ lately attached to Venetia, bordering on Bres- cia, Verona, Rovigo, Modena, Reggio, Parma, and Cremona; area, 855 sq. m. ; pop. in 1872, 288,942. It is an extensive plain, in many parts swampy and insalubrious, but has been much improved by draining, and is generally very fertile. It is watered by the river Po and its affluents the Mincio and Oglio, and its princi- pal products are grain, flax, silk, hemp, rice, fruits, and wine. The province is divided into the districts of Gonzaga, Mantua, Ostiglia, Re- vere, and Sermide, and embraces the former duchy of Mantua. II. A city, capital of the province, 80 m. E. S. E. of Milan and 22 m. S. S. W. of Verona, on an island in the middle of a lagoon formed by the Mincio ; pop. in 1872, 26,687. The swamps and marshes surround- ing Mantua, in connection with the formidable works which guard all its approaches and en- close it on every side, once constituted its most important defences, and made it so strong that it was deemed impregnable by any means but famine ; but of late years the marshes have been partially drained and diked, and the salubrity of the city is greatly improved. The communica- tion between the island and the mainland is by several bridges, the longest of which, the ponte di San Giorgio, forms the principal approach to the city. The latter is entered by five gates, one of which, the porta Mulina, presents a cu- rious specimen of ancient engineering. Man- tua has a desolate appearance, except in the central parts, where there is commercial activ- ity-; but it contains many fine streets, the via Larga being the widest avenue. Among the finest squares are the piazza di Virgilio, sur- Mantua. rounded by elegant houses; the piazza delle Erbe, where the market is held ; the esplanade or piazza di San Pietro ; and the piazza del Argine, with a marble pillar crowned by a bust of Vir- gil. Great masses of buildings, consisting of feudal castles with their battlemented turrets and Lombard arches, extend from the porta di San Giorgio to the piazza Delpurgo, and in- clude the ancient palatial castle (castello di Corte) of the Gonzagas, now used partly as a prison and partly for public offices. Adjoin- ing it is the immense structure begun in 1302, now comprising the so-called palazzo Imperiale, palazzo Vecchio, and corte Imperiale, contain- ing about 500 apartments, and mainly indebted for its present beauty to the genius of Giulio Romano, whose works as a painter and archi- tect form the greatest artistic glory of the city, but are nowhere displayed to greater advan- tage than in the decorations of this palace. The palazzo del Te, outside of the city, origi- nally intended for ducal stables, also grew up under the genius of Romano to the dimensions of a vast and magnificent building. The prin- cipal churches are the cathedral of St. Peter, Sant' Andrea, and Sta. Barbara, all more or less rich in paintings, particularly the last, which also contains in its sacristy a golden vase at- tributed to Benvenuto Cellini. San Maurizio contains the "Martyrdom of St. Margaret," one of the finest works of Ludovico Carracci. The shambles (beccheria) and fish markets (pescheria) were planned and built by Giulio Romano. Mantua is a bishop's see, erected in 808, and contains a number of educational and charitable institutions, a botanic garden, a mu- seum of antiquities, a library of about 80,000 volumes, an academy of science and fine arts