Mantegna's House

The construction of the House was carried out slowly, starting in 1476. In the meantime the Maestro lived in other parts of the city. After a short stay in Rome, which ended in 1490, Andrea returned to Mantua, though he probably started living in his new home only later. It is certain that he lived here in 1496. His permanence did not last long however, because an order dating January 16, 1502 made the building property of the Gonzaga, and in exchange the artist was given a building near Piazza Purgo, what is today Piazza Marconi, a few metres from St. Andrew’s Cathedral. The dream of spending the last part of his life in a house that was also a workshop, reflecting the harmonious relationship between the arts, thus vanished.