{"id":3803,"date":"2014-10-26T15:21:37","date_gmt":"2014-10-26T14:21:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/rickzullo.com\/?p=3803"},"modified":"2021-09-17T01:32:02","modified_gmt":"2021-09-16T23:32:02","slug":"palazzo-te-fall-giants","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rickzullo.com\/palazzo-te-fall-giants\/","title":{"rendered":"Palazzo Te and the Fall of the Giants"},"content":{"rendered":"

After concluding our meetings and seminars at TBDI in Rimin<\/a>i, our group of international bloggers was quickly whisked off in a private bus for our post-conference tour in the Verona\/Garda area of northern Italy. \u00a0The weather was turning nasty, but it was comfortable inside our coach, snacks were provided<\/a>, and someone else was driving.\u00a0 So I sat back and relaxed for a couple of hours as we made our way towards our first stop just outside of Mantua.<\/p>\n

\"palazzoThankfully, the rain ceased and the sun fought to peak through the clouds just as we pulled up to Palazzo Te.\u00a0 From the vantage point of the wet parking lot, it wasn\u2019t overly impressive\u2014but then again, your criterion for what\u2019s impressive gets grotesquely distorted the more you travel in Italy.\u00a0 Lethargic and a bit weary from my travels, I didn\u2019t really anticipate the remarkable works of art that we were about to encounter once inside.\u00a0 We were in for quite a surprise, and we had the perfect guide to lead us through this unexpected discovery.<\/p>\n

We all knew Lorenzo quite well already, as he had been one of the group leaders during our stay in Rimini for the big TTG Incontri<\/a> trade show.\u00a0 He was the facilitator between us\u2014the writers\/bloggers\u2014and the high-profile travel industry brands that were attending the conference.\u00a0 But at Palazzo Te<\/a> he was really in his element, as he introduced us to some of his \u201cfriends,\u201d Federico Gonzaga II, a.k.a. the Duke of Mantua; and the Renaissance master Giulio Romano who designed and decorated the sprawling palazzo on the swampy grounds of a former horse stable.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"our<\/a>In the first room, we meet the creator of this fantasy of art and architecture, the aforementioned Giulio Romano, smartly presented in a portrait by another master, the great Titian. \u00a0But it\u2019s Giulio who is the only Renaissance master mentioned by William Shakespeare. \u00a0In Act V, Scene II of The Winter\u2019s Tale<\/em>, Queen Hermione\u2019s statue is by \u201cthat rare Italian master, Julio Romano.\u201d\u00a0 Never mind that Giulio was never really a sculptor, he was still Raphael\u2019s most accomplished pupil.<\/p>\n

And Raphael would have been proud of this prot\u00e9g\u00e9.\u00a0 Giulio built and decorated this palace for his patron between the years 1525 and 1535.\u00a0 The style is considered Italian mannerist, which was sort of an ill-defined transition between the renaissance and baroque. Against the trend of the day, this palazzo contains almost no Christian imagery, save one scene from David and Goliath in a loggia overlooking the gardens.\u00a0 For the most part, we see scenes from Greek mythology and astrology, while cryptic symbolism and erotic images abound throughout the stylishly festooned rooms.<\/p>\n

Also notable is the recurring image of Mount Olympus, a symbol representing the Duke\u2019s loyalty to the Emperor, Charles V, instead of the Pope. The Dukedom of Mantua had traditionally been an ally of the Emperor, and Federico received the imperial investiture on April 7, 1521.\u00a0 And so he did not even attempt to stop the Imperial troops passing through his territory in 1527, indirectly contributing the subsequent Sack of Rome.<\/p>\n

The Greatest Womanizer of the Renaissance<\/h2>\n

In case you\u2019re wondering, Verdi\u2019s story about the Duke of Mantua, recounted in his famous opera, Rigoletto,<\/em> is as fictitious as Shakespeare\u2019s Juliette.\u00a0 But perhaps we can say that the aria Questa o Quella <\/em>captures the spirit of the real-life duke and his infamous womanizing (\u201cThis girl or that girl are just the same to me\u2026\u201d). Indeed, Signor Gonzaga did not commission this palatial estate for his beloved wife, who gave birth to his seven children. \u00a0Rather, it was a temple erected (pun intended) to his carnal desires, in the form of a mistress: Isabella Boschetti.<\/p>\n

The careful observer might also note an image of cupid standing among a small forest in a couple of the rooms (I am not<\/em> a careful observer, so thankfully Lorenzo pointed this out to us).\u00a0 In Italian, the word \u201cbosco\u201d means forest, or woods.\u00a0 Playing with surname of his lover, the term \u201cBoschetti,\u201d could be taken to mean \u201clittle forests.\u201d\u00a0 So then the final symbolism is that of Federico\u2019s love (represented by cupid), residing in Isabella\u2014the little forest.\u00a0 Kind of sweet, no?\u00a0 Well, yes, but I doubt that his wife shared the sentiment.<\/p>\n

\"Photo<\/a>
Photo credit: Museo Civico di Palazzo Te<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

We also see the figure of a salamander throughout, in one room accompanied by the Latin phrase, \u201cQUOD HUIC DEEST ME TORQUET,\u201d meaning \u201cWhat this [animal] has not, it is the reason for my pain,\u201d referring to the cold blood of the Salamander, since Federico Gonzaga had very hot<\/em> blood indeed!<\/p>\n

Alas.\u00a0 Having suffered long from syphilis (no big surprise), The Duke of Mantua died in 1540 at his villa at Marmirolo at just 40 years of age.\u00a0 As the saying goes, if you\u2019ll allow me, \u201cYou live by the sword, you die by sword.\u201d\u00a0 Metaphorically speaking, in this case.<\/p>\n

The bigger they are, the harder they fall<\/h2>\n

As I already mentioned, Palazzo Te was constructed 1525-1535. But the remarkable thing is that it only took 18 months to build the shell\u2014the remainder of the time was spent adorning this sumptuous palace. \u00a0For ten years, a team of plasterers, carvers, and fresco painters labored, until nearly every surface of every salon and loggia was covered with intricate works of art. \u00a0(The blank spaces that you see today are where tapestries once hung.)\u00a0 There are scenes from Olympian banquets in the Sala di Psiche<\/em>, and whimsical horses in the Sala dei Cavalli<\/em>\u2014perhaps an homage to the grounds\u2019 former use as a stable.\u00a0 However, the masterpiece of their work is certainly the Sala dei Giganti<\/em>\u2014the Room of the Giants.<\/p>\n

Lorenzo told us that this room was built for no other reason than to awe and inspire Federico\u2019s guests.\u00a0 Which is certainly does.\u00a0 You are standing below with the defeated Giants as the gods of Olympus above you unleash their fury over the attempted coup d’\u00e9tat. \u00a0Lightning bolts are flashing, the stone walls are crumbling, and the Giants scream out in fear. (Or maybe that was me.)<\/p>\n

\"Photo<\/a>
Photo Credit: Museo Civico di Palazzo Te<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

This illusion created by Giulio in this space is considered by many to be Mannerism\u2019s greatest fresco, and it\u2019s not hard to see why.\u00a0 You truly feel like you\u2019re part of the scene; a trick of both perspective and emotion.\u00a0 I took a few photos and fled the room before being buried among the rubble with the giants.<\/p>\n

The Cast of Characters<\/h2>\n

Our fearless leader, Lorenzo, runs a tour company called Visit Mantova<\/a>, and I highly suggest that you look him up when visiting this part of Italy.\u00a0 He brings the art and the history to life with his great knowledge and even greater passion.<\/p>\n

And I would like to mention the other friends that I made during this trip, which represents a traveling global village of devoted Italy lovers.\u00a0 I hope that our paths will cross again someday in future travels. In no particular order, I present to you some of the “Giants” of international bloggers\u2026<\/p>\n

From Central Florida, Jeff of Eurotravelogue<\/a>.<\/p>\n

From Amsterdam, Saskia of CiaoTutti<\/a><\/p>\n

From Tuscany via Brazil, Deyse of Passeios na Toscana<\/a><\/p>\n

From Hawaii, Noel of Travel Photo Discovery<\/a><\/p>\n

From Berlin via Texas, Adam of Travels of Adam<\/a><\/p>\n

From Rome via Australia, Maria of Heart Rome<\/a><\/p>\n

From Sweden via Finland, Katja of Skimbaco Lifestyle<\/a><\/p>\n

From Piemonte, Silvia of Nuovi Turismi<\/a><\/p>\n

From Le Marche, Eleonora of Italian Storytellers<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

After concluding our meetings and seminars at TBDI in Rimini, our group of international bloggers was quickly whisked off in a private bus for our post-conference tour in the Verona\/Garda area of northern Italy. \u00a0The weather was turning nasty, but it was comfortable inside our coach, snacks were provided, and someone else was driving.\u00a0 So […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3810,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[94,10,42,263,66],"tags":[295,207,226,303,302,102],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/rickzullo.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3803"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/rickzullo.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/rickzullo.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rickzullo.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rickzullo.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3803"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/rickzullo.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3803\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rickzullo.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3810"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/rickzullo.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3803"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rickzullo.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3803"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rickzullo.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3803"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}