Mantua

A small-sized city of around 50 thousands inhabitants, Mantua features a unique landscape at the heart of Italy’s northern Pianura Padana, thanks to the river Mincio that with its large meanders envelopes the city making it look like an island. Since 2007 the city of Mantua is listed in the UNESCO World Heritage List.

Geography makes Mantua’s identity even more unique: whilst representing the peripheral south-eastern corner of Lombardia, the city borders 7 provinces from 3 different regions. Thus, Mantua is positioned at the core of a multi-cultural, dynamic and attractive area, that goes from Emilia’s Apennines to Trentino’s Alps and from the Pianura Padana to the Adriatic sea, all connected through Italy’s longest cycle paths.

The city has a cultural and touristic inclination. In 2016 Matova was awarded Italy’s first Capital of Culture, opening its treasure of Palazzo Ducale, Palazzo Te, Palazzo della Ragione e del Podestà and its many beautiful churches to a number of visitors that doubled 2015’s figures. The title of Italian Capital of Culture was also instrumental to struck important deal in the field of innovation, such as the one with Google Arts&Culture to digitalise Mantua’s historical heritage. It made possible the beginning of important works of urban regeneration, bringing back to life whole parts of the city, like the Pescherie by Giulio Romano and the restoration of the more than 200 columns of the city centre porticos.

Mantua’s project within the URBACT INT-HERIT network aims at systemising all the actions empowered throughout the years, and especially in 2016, for the conservation and promotion of the city’s historical, cultural and artistic heritage. Introducing and adopting a systemic model, with standard process and procedures will contribute to make limited resources more efficient and to produce a mid and long-term strategic plan.