PALAZZO GIARDINO E GALLERIA DEGLI ANTICHI

The Casino, commonly known as the Palazzo Giardino, is a modest building with a rustic appearance, located between the gallery and the Corridor piccolo. It was built before 1580 and finished in May 1588, to be the duke's private residence and place of otium. The exterior, crowned by a precious oak cornice carved in 1583, was painted in May 1588 with geometric motifs like the palaces on the ancient Strada Giulia, today's Via Vespasiano Gonzaga. The interior was decorated by the team of artists coordinated by Bernardino Campi between 1582 and 1587. The 'Corridor grande', or Gallery, was built between 1584 and 1586 to house the Duke's collections. The collection, which included antique marbles and also hunting trophies from the imperial collections in Prague, remained inside the building until 1773, when they were moved to the Academy Palace in Mantua. Today, the restored marbles are displayed in the gallery of the Ducal Palace and in Palazzo San Sebastiano, both in the capital city. The fresco decoration of the walls was carried out in 1587 by Giovanni and Alessandro Alberti from Arezzo, who painted the perspectives of the short sides and the allegorical figures of the long walls. The panoplies, festoons, vases and coats of arms, on the other hand, are attributable to their collaborators. The wooden ceiling, once painted blue, has small gilded rosettes in the coffers. The floor was originally paved with square terracotta tiles.