Villa Giraffa is a rural palace located on the banks of the

Mincio River The Mincio (; ; ; ; ) is a river in the Lombardy region of northern Italy. The river is the main outlet of Lake Garda. It is a part of the ''Sarca-Mincio'' river system which also includes the river Sarca and the Lake Garda. The river starts ...

, near the town of

Goito Goito ( Upper Mantovano: ) is a ''comune'' with a population of 10,005 in the Province of Mantua in Lombardy. Goito is north of Mantua on the road leading to Brescia and Lake Garda, and straddles the old east–west Via Postumia between Cremona ...

province of Mantua The province of Mantua (; Emilian language#Dialects, Mantuan, Emilian language#Dialects, Lower Mantuan: ; Emilian language#Dialects, Upper Mantuan: ) is a Provinces of Italy, province in the Lombardy region of Italy. Its capital is the city of M ...

Lombardy The Lombardy Region (; ) is an administrative regions of Italy, region of Italy that covers ; it is located in northern Italy and has a population of about 10 million people, constituting more than one-sixth of Italy's population. Lombardy is ...

, Italy. It was initially remodeled in the 15th century as a villa by the ruling

Gonzaga Gonzaga may refer to: Places *Gonzaga, Lombardy, commune in the province of Mantua, Italy *Gonzaga, Cagayan, municipality in the Philippines *Gonzaga, Minas Gerais, town in Brazil *Forte Gonzaga, fort in Messina, Sicily Surname *House of Gonza ...

family.

History

While the villa has

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...

-style elements, it also incorporates styles from various refurbishments over the centuries.. The villa is named after a twentieth century Giraffe statue in one of the courtyards.

Isabella d'Este Isabella d'Este (19 May 1474 – 13 February 1539) was the Marchioness of Mantua and one of the leading women of the Italian Renaissance as a major cultural and political figure. She was a patron of the arts as well as a leader of fashion ...

, wife of the Marquis

Francesco II Gonzaga Francesco II Gonzaga (10 August 1466 – ) was the ruler of the Italian city of Mantua from 1484 until his death. Biography Francesco was born in Mantua, the son of Marquis Federico I Gonzaga. Francesco had a career as a condottiero acting as V ...

, donated the villa to the

Capuchin order The Order of Friars Minor Capuchin (; postnominal abbr. OFMCap) is a religious order of Franciscan friars within the Catholic Church, one of three " First Orders" that reformed from the Franciscan Friars Minor Observant (OFMObs, now OFM), the o ...

, wherein they established a monastery. The monks were expelled by the Napoleonic government, and the buildings were made into a military hospital. Later the building was used as an inn and a school. Presently the site and gardens is not in use and pending restoration.Studio Feiffer-Raimondi: Proposed renovation of site

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Giraffa Goito Villas in Lombardy Buildings and structures in the Province of Mantua Gonzaga residences Renaissance architecture in Lombardy