San Giorgio Castle

before one could conquer Mantua one had to cross the river Minico. The next obstacle was the citadel. Well protected, it was difficult for attackers to get into the city

It was built between 1395 and 1406 on the ruins of the church of Santa Maria di Capo di Bove for Francesco I Gonzaga, based on designs by Bartolino da Novara. Ludovico III. Gonzaga handed over his rooms in the "Corte Vecchi" to Pope Pius II in 1459 for the Council of Mantua. That year he commissioned Luca Fancelli to rebuild the castle as a palazzo and not as a defensible castle. He also commissioned the frescoes of the Castle's Camera degli Sposi. In 1490 the castle became the location of Isabella d'Este's Studiolo and stayed there until it was moved to the "Corte Vecchi" in 1519-1522. In 1496, the Condottiero Paolo Vitelli was captured by Francesco II and locked in the castle. It remained the main residence of Gonzaga for around a century until Guglielmo Gonzaga moved his apartments to the rebuilt "Corte Vecchi".Painting of the Castello and Palazzina della Paleologa in 1891.
In 1810 the Tyrolean fighter Andreas Hofer was imprisoned in the castle before his execution by the Kingdom of Italy. Mantua became part of the Austrian empire in 1814 and from 1815 it was a maximum security prison for the political opponents of the empire, such as the Belfiore martyrs from 1852. Other pro Risorgimento figures imprisoned there were Ciro Menotti and Teresa Arrivabene. The building structure was damaged by the 2012 earthquake in Emilia. [Source: Wikipedia]

Great old citadel on the edge of the old town