Palazzo del Te
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Palazzo del Te | |
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Federico II Gonzaga | |
Design and construction | |
Architect(s) | Giulio Romano |
Website | |
www |
Palazzo del Te, or simply Palazzo Te, is a palace in the suburbs of Mantua, Italy. It is an example of the mannerist style of architecture, and the acknowledged masterpiece of Giulio Romano.
Name
The palace is mostly referred to by English-speaking writers, especially art historians, as Palazzo del Te. In Italian, the name is now commonly shortened to Palazzo Te.
It was originally named after Il Te, the suburb where it was built.[1][2] The toponym is most likely derived from Lombard tejee or tejé, referring to a "linden grove" that once grew in the area, or alternatively from Latin attegia "hut".[3] Art historian Giorgio Vasari spelled the name Palazzo del T, based on the now archaic Italian-language name of the letter T.[2]
History
Palazzo del Te was constructed 1524–34 for
Giulio Romano, a pupil of Raphael, was commissioned to design the building. The shell of the palazzo, erected within eighteen months, is basically a square house containing a cloistered courtyard. A formal garden complemented the house, enclosed by colonnaded outbuildings ending in a semicircular colonnade known as the Exedra or Esedra.
Once the shell of the building was completed, for ten years a team of plasterers, carvers, and fresco painters laboured until barely a surface in any of the loggias or salons remained undecorated. Under Romano's direction, local decorative painters such as Benedetto Pagni and Rinaldo Mantovano worked extensively on the frescos.
In July 1630, during the War of the Mantuan Succession (1628–31), Mantua and the palace were sacked over three days by an Imperial army of 36,000 Landsknecht mercenaries. The remaining populace fell victim to one of the worst plagues in history that the invaders had brought with them. The Palazzo was looted from top to bottom and remained an empty shell with nymphs, gods, goddesses, and giants adorning the walls of the empty, echoing rooms.
Description
Like the
Few windows overlook the inner courtyard ("cortile"); the colonnaded walls are decorated on all sides by deep niches and blind windows, and the intervening surfaces are spattered by spezzato (broken and blemished plaster) giving life and depth to the surfaces.
The frescoes are the most remarkable feature of the Palazzo. The subjects range from
One of the most evocative parts of the lost era of the palazzo is the Casino della Grotta ("Lodge of the Grotto"), a small suite of intimate rooms arranged around a
Part of the Palazzo today houses the Museo Civico del Palazzo Te (Civic Museum of Palazzo del Te), endowed by the publisher
Gallery
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Model
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Model
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Loggia
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Internal façade
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Casino della Grotta
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"Serlian window" archway
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Cortile featuring "dropped" triglyphs
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The Fall of the Giants (La Caduta dei Giganti)
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Hall of Horses (Salla dei Cavalli)
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Quadrato
References
- ^ Migliorini, Bruno; Tagliavini, Carlo; Fiorelli, Piero; Borri, Tommaso Francesco. "Te, il". Dizionario di Ortografia e di Pronunzia della lingua italiana (in Italian). RAI. Retrieved 9 November 2023.
- ^ The Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects(in Italian).
[...] sua eccellenza aveva un luogo e certe stalle, chiamato il T, in mezzo a una prateria"; "Ma tornando alle stanze del T [...]"; "Parimente a Marmiruolo, luogo lontano da Mantova cinque miglia, fu fatta con ordine e disegno di Giulio una comodissima fabbrica e grandi pitture, non men belle che quelle del castello e del palazzo del T.
- ^ a b "Il luogo e il nome". Palazzo Te (in Italian). Retrieved 9 November 2023.
Sources
- ISBN 0500201773.
External links
- Official website
- Mantua tourist guide
- Palazzo Te at Google Arts & Culture