Palazzo del Podestà

With its imposing size, Palazzo del Podestà towers over the city centre of Virgil's native town. Research into the historical documents has brought to light some key points, many doubts and many hypothesis. The whole area, adjacent to the great Cathedral of Sant'Andrea, and that used to be next to the ancient Benedictine monastery in medieval times, in the thirteenth century was scattered with several buildings that played a central role, despite their different functions, in the life of the commune of Mantua, born after the rule of Matilda di Canossa. The plaque below the statue of Virgil on the facade overlooking Piazza Broletto informs us of the year the building was erected. It is written in fact that in the year 1227 the mayor Loderengo Martinengo from Brescia ordered the construction of the palace.