Palazzo del Te

Palazzo del Te (Italian pronunciation: [paˈlattso del ˈte]), or simply Palazzo Te, is a palace in the suburbs of Mantua, Italy. It is an example of the mannerist style of architecture, and the acknowledged masterpiece of Giulio Romano.

The palace is mostly referred to by English-speaking writers, especially art historians, as Palazzo del Te. In Italian, the name is now commonly shortened to Palazzo Te.

It was originally named after Il Te, the suburb where it was built. The toponym is most likely derived from Lombard tejee or tejé, referring to a "linden grove" that once grew in the area, or alternatively from Latin attegia "hut". Art historian Giorgio Vasari spelled the name Palazzo del T, based on the now archaic Italian-language name of the letter T.

Palazzo del Te was constructed 1524–34 for Federico II Gonzaga, Marquess of Mantua, as a palace of leisure. The site chosen was that of the family stables which he had built at Isola del Te, on the edge of the marshes just outside Mantua's city walls, as early as in 1502.

Giulio Romano, a pupil of Raphael, was commissioned to design the building. The shell of the palazzo, erected within eighteen months, is basically a square house containing a cloistered courtyard. A formal garden complemented the house, enclosed by colonnaded outbuildings ending in a semicircular colonnade known as the Exedra or Esedra.

Once the shell of the building was completed, for ten years a team of plasterers, carvers, and fresco painters laboured until barely a surface in any of the loggias or salons remained undecorated. Under Romano's direction, local decorative painters such as Benedetto Pagni and Rinaldo Mantovano worked extensively on the frescos.

In July 1630, during the War of the Mantuan Succession (1628–31), Mantua and the palace were sacked over three days by an Imperial army of 36,000 Landsknecht mercenaries. The remaining populace fell victim to one of the worst plagues in history that the invaders had brought with them. The Palazzo was looted from top to bottom and remained an empty shell with nymphs, gods, goddesses, and giants adorning the walls of the empty, echoing rooms.

Like the Villa Farnesina in Rome, the suburban location allowed for a mixing of both palace and villa architecture.

Text adapted from “Palazzo del Te” on Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Palazzo del Te ranks #355 of 7,738 worldwide in the atlas's castle fame ranking, and #28 of the 452 mapped in Italy. Founded 1536, it is older than 42% of the atlas's dated landmarks — one of 718 atlas entries founded in the 16th century. Its Wikipedia articles were opened 13,150 times in the last 60 days, more than 95% of the atlas. 2 more atlas landmarks stand within 25 km. The nearest day-trip guide is Brescia, 62 km away. See how Italy compares in the castle statistics.

View on the interactive castle map →

Read the full history on Wikipedia ↗