Next day, we got out the bikes again - they were provided with the flat, so that was very convenient.
Firstly we headed for the Palazzo Te, a "Pleasure Palace"(!) built in 1530 for Federico II Gonzaga, Marquis of Mantova. Interior decoration (ie frescoes) by Giulio Romano, a pupil of Raphael.
Then we set off on the bikes on the cycle track which leads from Mantova to Lake Garda, which is only 46 km (29 miles) away. With better bikes, we might have been tempted to go all the way!
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| Setting off, in the Piazza delle Erbe |
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An extraordinary room, its walls and ceiling completely covered with
frescoes of this scene from Ovid's Metamorphosis - Jupiter destroys the Titans |
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The Casino della Grotta - a water-play area with pebble floors and fountains
set in the gardens for use of the courtiers |
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Out on the excellent cycle path - drainage channels are everywhere in this
low-lying area of the valley of the Po |
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| Flat land, big farms - reminiscent of the Netherlands |
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Just managed to catch this chap who had just managed to catch his fish -
a type of carp (he told us the local name which we immediately forgot! |
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| Sun setting over the lake, and the railway line, as we returned to town |
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| Streets and cafes thronged by the passegiata, and the hour of aperitivo |
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