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 Portico of the Sanctuary (east side). |
The sanctuary in its present state presents itself as building of Lombard gothic origin to which have been added a series of later constructions which have altered but not compromised the original nature of the oldest part of the edifice. The long cloisters with their rounded arches were added to the prominent antique central part at a later date. The entire building presents wonderfully decorated frames in terracotta which surround the two large gothic windows with their detailed working showing the crowning of the clergy, and is also surmounted by pinnacles. Entering via the portico, are the paintings depicting the history of the Sanctuary and the renaissance portico in red marble coming from Verona. On the architrave of the portal the words Sacrum Celesti Regine Dicatum are incised which refer to the painting of the Virgin with Child which historians have placed in the period of Mantegna between Correggio and Tura Mantovano. Still in the portico are a series of epigraphs recording the history of the basilica. Among the most important are those detailing the plague of 1399 and the consequent erection of the religious building in 1522, where Mario Equicola records the Victory of Federic II in Pavia (decorated with 5 French cannon balls) and the noble families of Mantova, the Anreasi, the Agnelli, the Arrigoni and the Cavriani.
On entering the Sanctuary is the impressively spacious aisle (45 x 13 m), constructed in typical Lombard gothic style. The aisle is covered by a series of crossed arches decorated with floral designs. The embalmed crocodile which probably escaped from a reserve belonging to the Gonzagas is placed between the figure of Christ with the Apostles and the Devil.
On the right side is the chapel of St. Bonaventura, also known as the chapel of Castiglioni. Inside the chapel is an exceptional mausoleum built in memory of Baldassare Castiglioni, the author of The Cortegiano and designed by Giulio Romano and bearing an inscription by Pietro Bembo (1529). Alongside is the mausoleum of his son, Camillo, and above the altar is a beautiful canvas inspired by Giulio Romano depicting the Madonna on the Throne with the Child and the Saints Bonaventura da Bagnoregio and Francis of Assisi.
This leads to the Chapel of the Bertazzolo family. The Bertazzolos were a family of mathematicians and hydraulic engineers who acted as prefects in the factories belonging to the duchy. It is here that the high quality painting by Lorenzo Costa Saint Lorenzo The Martyr hangs. In the successive chapel of the Aliprandi is an important altar piece in wood with a statue of The Madonna with Child and the painted panels Dio Padre, S. Anna, S. Elisabetta, S. Caterina, S. Appollonia). The work was carried out by the Viani brothers, Antonio Maria (painter) and Giovanni Battista (incisor). On the walls are two paintings from the early 14th century: Madonna with the Sleeping Child and Madonna on the Throne with the Blessed Child.
Outside the chapel, before entering the passage that leads to the vestry, are the walled corridors and beautiful XV century monument by Bartolomeo Panciera with the marble caryatids, attributed to Viani.
 Pilgrims in front of the sanctuary in 1930. |
On arriving at the passage that leads to the vestry stands a monument to Bartolomeo Stanga (1498) by Gian Cristoforo Romano. In the vestry are the impressive wardrobes in walnut and a great altar in memory of Scipione Capilupi, built in 1644 as ex voto for the siege of Mantova in 1630. The altar conserves a beautiful altar by Lorenzo, the Baptism of Jesus. On the walls are small canvasses depicting Portraits of the Gonzagas, a beautiful copy of the Supper of Emmaus by Tiziano (the original was removed and now hangs in the Louvre in Paris) and a painting by Borgani: The Virgin appears to Saint Anthony. On returning to the church is the chapel of the Mater Gratiae with a painting of the Holy Virgin. It was removed in 1856 and conserved (with no lapidary inscriptions) in the burial chamber of Carlo II Gonzaga and his wife Maria.
The apsidal contains a high altar, which was remade in its present marble form in 1646 on the orders of Maria Gonzaga. It was only in 1932 that the miraculous painting of the Virgin was discovered. On the freshly renovated walls are the incomplete paintings from the period of Giulio Romano. The apsidal has an umbrella shaped ceiling. Leaving the apsidal the visitor enters the vestry built in Lombard gothic style with its great canvas painting by Costa depicting the Assunzione di Maria Vergine. Returning along the left side is the chapel of Corradi, also known as S. Girolamo. Here is the mausoleum of Bernardino Corradi, attributed to Gian Cristoforo Romano, and a canvas of Bonsignori depicting S. Girolamo. The chapel of Zimbramonti follows, with its altar by Bonsignori depicting S. Sebastiano. The paintings on the walls are by Rinaldo Mantovano, who worked for Giulio Romano.
The chapel of Strozzi follows, also known as S. Ludovico. In the past it was entirely decorated with paintings by Pordenone, which are now hidden by ornaments of a later age. The canvas on the altar depicts the Madonna with Child and the Saints Francis and Ludovico d'Angiò, and is by Carlo Santner. The chapel of S. Antonio of Padova follows, and contains an altar in marble coming from Volta Mantovana, and some paintings, including a canvas depicting A miracle by S. Antonio by Borgani. Along the aisle linking the chapels are two paintings from the fourteenth-fifteenth centuries depicting the Nativity and Our Lady of the Misericordia. The last chapel is that of the Ippoliti, with a painting depicting the Martyr of S. Ippolito, by Antonio Maria Viani, and the imposing burial shrine of the family of the Ippoliti.
Paolo Bertelli
