Earthquake: partial reopening of the Ducal Palace

A third of the Ducal Palace – the part who has been affected by minor damages during the earthquake – is now reopened.

The visitor’s route includes:

The Duchesses' Staircase; Domenico Morone's "Battle between the Gonzagas and the Bonacolsis"; The medieval Captain’s Palace; Pisanello's Arthurian frescoes; The New Gallery; The Room of the Archers (with Rubens' "The Gonzaga family adoring the Holy Trinity"); Gallery of the Mirrors (ballroom); Vincenzo Gonzaga's apartment;  the Hall of the Rivers facing Hanging Garden; Tapestries by Raphael; Neoclassical Apartment “Of the Empress”; the private Rooms of Isabella d’Este.

The most valuable part of the Palace is still closed , awaiting for restoration (and funds).

The closed areas are:

The Castle of St. George; the Bridal Chamber ("Camera Picta" aka "Camera degli Sposi") frescoed by Mantegna; The Room of Manto; The New Court; The Room of the Horses; the Room of the Heads; the Room of Troy by Giulio Romano; The Gallery of the Marbles, The Gallery of the Exhibition facing the Cortile della Cavallerizza (Horses Courtyard), the Apartment of the Metamorphosis facing the Botanic Garden.

The Zodiac Room and the Chamber of the Popes (in the Old Court) are occupied by scaffolds: you can pass through them, but you won’t be able to see the frescoes.

 

The restoration is going to take a long time – maybe years. And mostly, the Ducal Palace needs and deserves help in the fundraising.
If you wish to give this help, please feel free to donate.
All donations will be collected by the “Società per il Palazzo Ducale” as a contribution for the restoration and the recovery of the artistic heritage damaged by the earthquakes.
You can donate – also using PayPal – through the website of the Society.

The Society will assure the correct use of the funds, which will be spent under the control of the Direction of the Ducal Palace.

Thank you for every kind of your help you will provide with, saving the Ducal Palace of Mantua.

 

SAVE THE DUCAL PALACE

On May 20th and May 29th 2012 two strong earthquakes shook Mantua. The Ducal Palace had some severe damage: many cracks in walls, ceilings and floors. Frescoes, stuccoes, painted plasters and some sculptures have been affected.
The Palace – which is the home of great masterpieces such as frescoes by Mantegna, Pisanello, Giulio Romano, paintings by Rubens and tapestries by Raphael – is now almost completely closed, waiting for restoration.
The Ducal Palace needs and deserves help.
If you wish to give this help, please feel free to donate.
VisitMantua will not earn any money involved in this fundraising, we simply want to represent a further vehicle to encourage people to donate. All donations will be collected by the “Società per il Palazzo Ducale” as a contribution for the restoration and the recovery of the artistic heritage damaged by the earthquakes.
The Society will assure the correct use of the funds, which will be spent under the control of the Direction of the Ducal Palace.
The names of all the Donors will be included in the “Gold Book” of the Society.
Thank you for your help in saving the Ducal Palace of Mantua.

 

 

 

A third of the Ducal Palace is now reopened: discover more reading this post.

Earthquake in Mantua: a list of the main damages in the Ducal Palace

CASTLE OF SAN GIORGIO
Bridal Chamber by Mantegna (“Camera degli Sposi”, aka “Camera Picta”: a long crack appeared on the wall with portraits of the Gonzaga family; some of pieces of frescoed plaster have fallen down.
Chamber of the Initials: opening of cracks in the frescoed ceiling.
Chamber of the Friezes: large and worrying cracks.
More generally, severe damages to the supporting wall structures: break and fall of bricks in correspondence of the windows. Break of the footbridges behind the crenellation of the towers.

NEW COURT
Hall of Manto: Fall of frescoed plasters, large cracks in the frescoes, dislocation of the coffered wooden ceiling (the largest in Mantua).
Staircase of Aeneas (connection between the New Court and the Castle): severe dislocating cracks of the walls.
Gallery of the Marbles (aka Gallery of the Months): severe falls of plaster and painted stuccoes. Collapse of a part of the moulding cornice. 

Gallery of the Exhibition: many cracks. The Gallery is also threatened by the unstable dome of the of near Bell-tower of the Basilica of Santa Barbara (Church of the Palace), which is likely to collapse, breaking through the ceiling.
Nova Domus: a crack in the outer (supporting) wall in correspondence of one of two terraces overlooking the Garden of the Simples.
Corridor of Bertani: unstable ceiling (somewhere collapsing).
Corridor of Paolo Pozzo: collapse of a part of the marble balustrade on the roof of the passage.

PALATINE BASILICA OF SANTA BARBARA (Private Church of the Gonzagas)  

Collapse of the lantern of the bell-tower (destroyed).
Unstable dome of the bell-tower.
Damage to the façade.
An angular crack on one of the Cubes (square domes) of the Church.

OLD COURT
Hall of the Rivers: widespread falls of frescoed plaster.
Ducal Flat: tipping of a wall to the outside, with danger of collapse on the beneath Paccagnini Square; dislocation of the windows.
Chamber of Pisanello: failure of one of the rafters.


A third of the Ducal Palace is now reopened: discover more reading this post.

Mantegna’s frescoes have been creaked by an earthquake. 

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