An example of city manufacturing
Piazza Marconi, formerly known as Piazza Purgo, is one of the historic hearts of Mantua.
Just steps from Piazza delle Erbe and the Basilica of Sant'Andrea, the square owes its original name to the medieval practice of wool purging. After being washed in the waters of the nearby Rio, the large bolts of wool were spread out in the sun to dry and "purged," that is, freed from residual impurities from the manufacturing process. The square was therefore an essential part of the textile production cycle, a sort of open-air laboratory in the heart of the city, one of the most important in the city. operational hub for textile processing. It was Marquis Ludovico II Gonzaga, starting in the years following 1470, who commissioned a radical urban redevelopment. The goal was to reorganize the spaces and beautify the heart of the city, giving Piazza Purgo a shape that has remained virtually intact over the centuries.