Galleria degli Antichi and Palazzo del Giardino

The Galleria degli Antichi and the Palazzo del Giardino are adjacent, contemporaneous, Renaissance-style buildings located on Piazza d`Armi #1 in Sabbioneta, in the Province of Mantua, region of Lombardy, Italy.

Prior to 1797, the buildings were connected to the Rocca or Castle of Sabbioneta (razed by Napoleon's forces during the Siege of Mantua), and the gallery once housed the Gonzaga collection of antique Roman statuary and hunting trophies.

The galleria or gallery was once a corridor, aligned south to north, linked to the large Sabbioneta Castle that stood inside the walled town.

The statuary collection was acquired in the 16th century by Vespasiano Gonzaga[1] from antique dealers and collectors of northern Italy, as well as much of it carried away as booty by his father after the imperial Sack of Rome in 1527.

[4] The Palazzo Giardino, or Casino of Sabbioneta, is an externally non-descript white building, aligned east-west and standing at the south end of the Galleria degli Antichi.

Each room has a specific dominant theme, but the entirety represents a wide sampling of classic pagan antique mythology.

The vault has gilded stucco frames by Pietro Martire Pesenti, these hold panels painted by Campi, depicting: Floor tiles and marble shelves were moved in 1773 to the Palazzo Ducale in Mantua.

The bas-reliefs over the windows depict scenes of Roman life sculpted by the stucco artist Bartolomeo Conti, while the landscapes have been attributed to the Flemish painter Jan Soens.

The walls are richly decorated with grotteschi and mythological figures such as Apollo, the three Graces, Diana of Ephesus, and Venus with Cupid.