The time is now. For everything.: Mantova. The city of Rigoletto.

I recently decided to start traveling again.

I travel often for work.

And usually alone.

Vacations I do with my little family and it is usually somewhere by the sea or cities close by.

Last time I traveled alone for traveling only was - actually never.

It was always with my friends, boyfriend or a family member.

So decision to go exploring Tuscany and Liguria in Italy by myself was an easiest decision I made.

Firstly because I really needed it.

This turned out to be one of my favorite trips.

It was a closed group trip actually.

I tagged along with The Italian Society.

Turned out I was not the only one who managed to enter this group.

I met three nice girls and one sweetest couple at this trip.

We still talk often,

already met for coffee,

exchanged photos from our weekend getaways and thoughts where to go this summer.

Nice isn't it.

It is usually like that with me - even when I want to be alone, compatible people somehow get to me.

The rout was the following one:

Home-Mantova-Modena-Montecatini Terme-Isolad'Elba-Cinque Terre-Portovenere-Rapallo-Portofino-Shopping-Home.

This was not an easy trip.

Almost 3000 km in four and half days.

We spent two nights in the bus actually.

First stop on this little trip was the city of Mantova.

It is a city on the water.

Nice, isn't it?

Mantua (italian: Mantova) is a city in Lombardy, Italy not far from Emilia-Romagna and Veneto.

Because of the power and influence of Gonzaga's family, which used to own the city for over 400 years, Mantua was considered to be one of the most important cultural cities in the rennaisance and it still maintains a lot of that period.

Firstly we stopped by Palazzo del Te.

It was is constructed in 16th century for Federico II Gonzaga, Marquess of Mantua.

It was built as a pleasure palace, or Villa Suburbana.

I arrived by Vespa of course.

Blue is my favorite color.

It was in the morning, around 10:00 a.m.

My new friends, T and A.

For ten years a team of plasterers, carvers and fresco painters worked on the interior, until barely a surface in any of the loggias or salons remained undercoated.

Apparently, they were fascinated with giants back then.

Salone dei Cavalli.

Horses appeared alive, like they were glued to the wall.

The hunting scene.

Cupid and Psyche, Sala di Psyche.

Now this one I find really awkward.

It is called Psyche’s Second Task, Sala di Psyche.

Awkward and funny.

This all is a work done by Giulio Romano.

Italians.

What can you say...

You enter the city by crossing the water.

That is everywhere.

Nice park.

Boats to rent.

A view from the bus.

Just entering the city.

Looks nice, medieval.

I liked the San Giorgo castle much.

Mantova is fairly small.

Combines old and new well I guess.

Nice bakery and few cafes on the way to the center.

The house of Rigoleto.

Rigoletto we all recall as an opera by Giuseppe Verdi based on the play Le roi s'amuse by Victor Hugo.

Despite serious initial problems with the Austrian censors who had control over northern Italian theaters at the time, the opera had a triumphant premiere at La Fenice in Venice on 11 March 1851.

Its tragic story revolves around the licentious Duke of Mantua, his hunch-backed court jester Rigoletto, and Rigoletto's beautiful daughter Gilda. The opera's original title, La maledizione (The Curse), refers to the curse placed on both the Duke and Rigoletto by a courtier whose daughter had been seduced by the Duke with Rigoletto's encouragement. The curse comes to fruition when Gilda likewise falls in love with the Duke and eventually sacrifices her life to save him from the assassins hired by her father.

The main square of Mantova, Piazza Sordello, is one of the most beautiful city squares I have been.

Combination of the Ducal Palace this pebbly road, white Cathedral and this building with green window shades...

Decided to see what is there between the palace and building with green window shades.

I like to walk. Much.

That much that people usually decide to quit walking by my side and have coffee.

The Duke's palace itself has a public park behind the palace.

Vincenzo Gonzaga (21 September 1562 – 9 February 1612) was ruler of the Duchy of Mantua. He was a son of Guglielmo X Gonzaga, Duke of Mantua, and Archduchess Eleanor of Austria. His maternal grandparents were Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor, and Anna of Bohemia and Hungary.

Duke Vincenzo was one of the most representative men of his time.

Under his lordship Mantova became a center of the arts in Italy. Character completely opposite to that of his father, who always had little sympathy for him, Vincenzo was noted for his generosity, for his excesses, and love for the lap of luxury. He also was devoted to partying with beautiful ladies and night excursions in the company of friends, which often ended in brawls. Vincenzo was rumored to have been impotent and he is said to have sent a secret expedition to the New World in order to obtain a legendary aphrodisiac.

He turned Mantua into a vibrant cultural center.

In 1584 he married his first cousin Eleonora de' Medici, the daughter of Francesco I de' Medici and Joanna of Austria. Vincenzo and Eleonora's marriage produced six children!

...

Enough with the talking.

Let's go for a walk.

Down the streets of Mantova.

Enjoy.