Palazzo Te in Mantua

Palazzo Te is one of Ira's favorite places. It's a Gonzaga "country" palace built by Mannerist Giulio Romano. It was basically a place where the family could get away from the stress of the court and ride horses and give parties.

Romano was a little bit crazy and a lot of fun. Here are some quick pictures from our wanderings around the place.

Room of the Sun and Moon

Looks like Wedgewood. The ceiling painting is the chariots of the sun and moon. Each of the lozenges contains a different bas-relief figure.









Hall of the Horses

Horsey folk like to paint pictures of their horses. This one includes some bonus pictures of muscular nude men wrestling beasts. (And the last picture is from the ceiling, which includes salamanders, a family totem.







Room of Cupid and Psyche

This is decadence piled on sumptuousness. Restraint, it is not. It people fucking, eating, and drinking. And not just people. I love this room. It's over the top and fun.








Room of the Giants

Perhaps the most famous of the frescoes, this depicts the Olympian gods casting down the Titans, who were, in effect, their parents. It's all enveloping, with a subtle curve from wall to ceiling so that you are completely immersed in the action.













And the following is my favorite crushed giant. He seems to have an expression like, "Geez, not this shit again!"


And finally some details from the loggias and the building itself. It was a gorgeous, sunny day.








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