MANTUA (man'til-a), a town of northern Italy, capital of a province of same name, on the Mincio, 21 miles S. W. of Verona, and 37 N. E. of Cremona. It is partly on two islands formed by the waters of the Mincio, and partly on the mainland. Mantua is both by nature and art one of the strongest places in Eu rope; it is entered by bridges, flanked with redoubts, and is built on a plain of tolerable regularity, divided by a canal into two nearly equal parts. Most of the streets are broad, regular, and well paved; the houses are of stone, and in general well built; and the public squares both spacious and elegant. Of the lat ter, the most noted is the Piazza di Virgilio, used as a promenade. In its center stands Vergil's monument, a col umn of marble. The principal public edifices at Mantua are the cathedral; the Corte with its hall; the Palazzo della Giustizia; the palace of the Gonzaga family, and the one which, from its shape, bears the singular name of the Palazzo di T; the university buildings. the arsenal, the Jewish synagogue, and the public library, containing over 80, 000 volumes. Mantua contains likewise
several valuable collections of paintings, and a gallery of antiquities belonging to the Academy of Arts and Sciences. Man ufactures silk, woolen and linen fabrics, etc. Mantua claims an antiquity equal to that of Rome. It passed under the Roman power 197 B. C., and was the birthplace of Vergil, 70 a. C. After nu merous reverses of fortune, Mantua passed into the hands of Louis I., Duke of Gonzaga, in 1328, and under his rule attained great importance. It continued in the Gonzaga family till 1708, when it was taken by the Austrians. It was taken by Napoleon I. in 1796, and erected into the chief town of the department of the Mincio, but was restored to Austria in 1814. By the treaty of Zurich, in 1859, Mantua and Peschiera were the only towns of Lombardy left to the house of Austria, and these were surrendered in October, 1866. Pop. about 35,000.