Duke of Mantua - Crocodiles and Horses

 The wealthy and powerful Gonzaga family ruled over Mantua for four centuries. The palace in Mantua is one of the largest in Italy and houses frescos, gardens, tapestry's and numerous works of art. Additionally, the Gonzaga family collected natural wonders of the world and horses. During our tour of the palace, we were shown the re-assembled natural science collection. The collection contained wonders organized into the elements: earth, water, air, and fire. 

The earth collection had various fossils, rocks, crystals and samples of petrified wood. 


The water collection had samples of shells and corals. 


The air and fire collections had various animal specimens and contained the duke's prized possession, a bezoar. This was an animal gallstone believed to be the universal antidote to any disease or sickness. 

The Duke's natural wonders showed the breadth of his collections and exemplified his wealth to his guests in the past and to visitors today. He additionally bred horses and bet on races. Horses often appeared in paintings throughout the palace and many staircases were built with shorter and more gradual steps as to allow the horses access to the palace. 

Many of the wonders we saw in the Duke's palace in Mantua were similar to the great works of art I saw in the Duke's Palace in Venice. This palace housed the council of ten and the council of forty. The Grand Council chamber contained a work "In Paradiso" that contained great detail of Jesus, Mary and numerous saints.  

The Duke's wealth attracted artisans to join his court. This included painter Giulio Romano and playwright Pietro Aretino. Aretino was known for his scathing and satirical plays about nobility and had recently fled Rome after creating political chaos. While in Mantua, Aretino wrote Il Marescalo (The Stablemaster). This play describes the Duke arranging a marriage for the stablemaster. The stablemaster does not want to leave behind his freedom and curses the Duke. The end of the play reveals the marriage to be a practical joke. This plot echoes the events of the real Duke's reluctance to marry and his many wives and mistress. While the Duke, Federico Gonzaga held material wealth as shown by his art, natural wonders and horses, Aretino attempts to usurp the Duke with this dark comedy. 


By Abby Mebane 


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