MAST Castel Goffredo – museo della Città

Located a few steps from the square, the Renaissance heart of the city, the MAST (Museum, Art, History, Territory) exhibits a rich collection of wooden sculptures, textiles, marbles, silverware, illuminated manuscripts and incunabula that tell the history of the community, from the Etruscans to the Romans and from the Longobard Age to the end of the 16th century, during which the Marquises Gonzaga, cadet branch of the dynasty that dominated Mantua, were the protagonists. The itinerary highlights two identity and founding themes of the town, which is part of the Alto Mantovano territory: water, a natural element that has been a determining factor in its historical, urban and economic development, and weaving, an activity documented since the 13th century and developed in the 20th century with the textile industrial district, which still celebrates Castel Goffredo as the "town of socks". This 'creative' process is accompanied by the valorisation of valuable assets owned by the parish of Sant'Erasmo.
The museum is enhanced through guided tours, specific educational activities for children, adults and families, exhibitions, courses, exclusive cultural and recreational initiatives and the involvement of schools, which are the privileged recipients of knowledge of the vast documentary (Parish Historical Archive) and book heritage (Old Clergy Bookshop with works from the 15th to the 19th century).
The museum is presented as an in-depth exploration of the monumental building of the 16th century prepositural church of Sant'Erasmo v.m. and a guided tour of the town of Castel Goffredo, long one of the 'small capitals' of the cadet branches of the Gonzaga lineage and seat of a flourishing Renaissance court that hosted captains of fortune, diplomats and men of letters.