Walls, towers and gates Country of Mantova

The cage tower was built around the thirteenth century by the Bonacolsi. Around 1576, the year in which Duke G. Gonzaga had a sort of open-air jail built that referred to the idea of a real cage, the tower took precisely this name.

The Tower of Vespasiano, otherwise known as the Torrazzo, is an architectural structure that constitutes the symbol of the history of the country. The fortress is 28 meters high and inside it there are several rooms. One of the rooms was used as a prison upon intervention by the forces of the Carabinieri.

The Sant'Alò Tower, better known under the name of Torre Nuova, is located in Piazza Arche in Mantua. It was built around the fifteenth century and its main function was to defend the city itself.

The civic tower founded around the 13th century according to a typically medieval style and belongs to the city walls, is about 27 meters high; in the beginning it had an external staircase with which communicated with the square. In 1492 it was equipped with a bell cell that today allows the concert of eight bells to be held.

In via Don Enrico Tazzoli stands a tower about forty-two meters high that takes the name of tower of the Zuccaro. The name probably comes from the family that owns the tower, although, according to a popular belief, sugar was stored inside it.

Initially, the Tower of Marmirolo was part of an ancient castle. In July 1700 the tower collapsed, but not much time passed and was replaced by the citizens by another tower. In the 50s of the last century, a new bell was added to the structure by the Municipal Administration. The tower took its present appearance after some restorations carried out in the years 1872-1873 and 1995.

The Imperial Gate of Sabbioneta was built in 1579 and was dedicated to the Emperor Rudolf II of Habsburg. It stands out for its façade composed of smooth ravines and the neoclassical gable that replaced the original loggia.

Porta Vittoria was built in the second half of the 16th century and represents one of the two entrance doors to the city of Sabbioneta. It is characterized by an impressive appearance and has a façade divided into two parts of which the lower one has three arched openings and the upper one is a loggia. Above the entrance are the coats of arms of the Gonzaga-Colonna family and an epigraph in Latin.