The Palace

Made entirely from fired brick and topped by swallow-tailed merlons, the façade of Palazzo Castiglioni, together with Palazzo Ducale, the Duomo and Palazzo Vescovile, is one of the icons of Piazza Sordello. The fourteenth-century building was originally home to the Bonascosi family, the first lords of the city. The façade is topped by swallow-tailed merlons and faces Palazzo Ducale, the heart of artistic and politic life in Mantua which, under the Gonzagas, possessed one of the Renaissance's most beautiful courts.
Palazzo Castiglioni is still today the residence of the descendants of Baldassare Castiglione, a writer and diplomat of the Italian Renaissance.
Palazzo Castiglioni is home to the prestigious Orchestra da Camera di Mantova (www.ocmantova.com)