Mantua, an excellent example of inter-institutional collaboration between the Ducal Palace and the province

In Mantua there is an excellent example of inter-institutional collaboration, in this case between the Ducal Palace (thus a state institution) and the Province of Mantua. The collaboration is aimed at the concession of some of the rooms of the Plenipotentiary Palace, which is adjacent to the Ducal Palace but belongs to the Province, in order to allow the work on the large construction site of the Armory Hall that will start soon.

The Palace of the Plenipotentiary stands on Piazza Sordello at number 43, right next to the 14th-century Palazzo del Capitano, the medieval heart of Mantua’s Ducal Palace complex. At one time the building was part of the large Gonzaga citadel: it was during the 18th century that it began to be considered a functionally autonomous building, where the post offices were initially housed. The Province of Mantua, as mentioned, currently owns the property of the Palace of the Plenipotentiary.

The attic rooms of the Plenipotentiary Palace, unused and left rustic, became of interest to the Ducal Palace of Mantua when, in the last days of 2022, a contract was arranged for the seismic improvement, overall restoration and enhancement works of the Captain’s Palace. This is a large construction site that will start around April, commonly referred to as “dell’Armeria” (after the name of the large hall on the second floor, the Salone dell’Armeria precisely) and financed with the important sum of 4.4 million euros within the 2014-2020 “development and cohesion” funds. For this reason, the President of the Province, Carlo Bottani, has initiated procedures to pass ownership of the premises to the state property and then to the Ducal Palace, anticipating the management of the premises with a concession. This is a highly meritorious institutional collaboration in the interest of the city of Mantua that will allow the Ducal Palace to start the construction site by being able to make use of the premises that will be used for the passage of technological systems and infrastructures, also facilitating simpler and more appropriate design solutions, given also the delicacy of the works within one of the most important and valuable monumental contexts of the city. And the whole thing will also allow minimizing the impact on the public’s visiting experience.

“Given the importance of the project,” explains the President of the Province of Mantua Carlo Bottani, “for the enhancement of a palace that constitutes an asset that is the artistic heritage of the city and of all Mantuans, and given the current lack of use of the attic room by the Province given that due to its location and small size, it is of no interest or lends itself to a functional use for the institution we are pleased to grant the Ministry of Culture - General Directorate Museums Ducal Palace of Mantua the room/attic that will allow a significant improvement in the access to the palace and will contribute to enhance even more the Gonzaga complex. We are truly happy to collaborate with the Ducal Palace and Dr. L’Occaso and all his staff. A small space in the attic will prove invaluable for placing facilities and elevators that will make the palace even easier to access.”

“I would like to extend my heartfelt thanks to President Bottani,” says Ducal Palace Director Stefano L’Occaso, “for his willingness to help on this occasion of institutional collaboration. This certainly not taken for granted gesture will allow the best conditions for the quickest start of the most challenging of the many construction sites that are opening at the Ducal Palace, a sign of an important season whose fruits will be seen for a long time to come.”

The operation was made possible thanks to the collaboration of Agenzia del Demanio director Massimiliano Iannelli, together with Paola Pala and Agata Maria Zinfollino; for the Province of Mantua, in addition to President Bottani, Palazzo DUcale also thanks Gloria Vanz and Antonio Cattelani.

Pictured are the Palazzo del Capitano on the left and the Palazzo del Plenipotentiary on the right.

Mantua, an excellent example of inter-institutional collaboration between the Ducal Palace and the province

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