An artist, a house, an eternal idea
The building was erected starting from 1476 on land donated to Andrea Mantegna by Marquis Ludovico II Gonzaga, perhaps in recognition of the decorative work in the Bridal Chamber in the castle of San Giorgio.
The artist moved to various residences during his time in Mantua as a court artist; he probably lived in this building between 1496 and 1502.
The building appears as a cube within which a cylindrical courtyard is inserted: a rather unusual concept, suggesting that the architect may have been Mantegna himself. The rooms, now used as exhibition spaces by the Provincial Administration of Mantua, are arranged around the courtyard, where traces of painted decoration can be seen. The reference to the Roman domus is clear, in which adjacent rooms are arranged around a courtyard.
Inside, friezes, often incomplete, of notable pictorial quality survive.
The motto Ab Olympo, placed on one of the architraves of a portal in the courtyard, is a celebration of Mantegna's own greatness as an artist.