Sponda Est Mantova

There is a side of Mantua that reveals itself when you step away for a moment from the silhouette of its palaces and view the city from the water. It is the area along the left shore of Lago di Mezzo, where the Mincio River landscape meets green spaces, trails, and traces of the city’s industrial and urban history. Here, the relationship between nature and architecture is constantly shifting, while the Gonzaga family’s Renaissance skyline is reflected on the lake’s surface.

The route, which can be explored on foot or by bicycle, winds through an environment where wild vegetation coexists with remnants of the past and spaces dedicated to art and learning. Along the way, you’ll encounter the Porta Giulia gate of the Cittadella, the Sparafucile tower, and the Parco dell’Arte, on a route that leads all the way to Campo Canoa and allows you to observe Mantua from a different perspective—one that’s more leisurely and immersed in the landscape.

It is precisely in these borderlands, between city and nature, that a lesser-known side of Mantua emerges. The banks of the Mincio thus become a place of passage and exploration, where biodiversity, art, and the region’s history converge and help shape a landscape that is still evolving.