Situated in Lombardy’s southeastern corner, almost touching the border with Emilia-Romagna and the Veneto, Mantua is one of the most beautiful jewels from the Renaissance in Italy’s territory. Mantua was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site, together with Sabbioneta, city of art, in 2008. Mantua is deeply intertwined with the history of the noble Gonzaga Family who, during their reign 1328 to 1707, made the city into a Court of grand splendor. The city extends in peninsula form over three clear, reflecting lakes, created artificially as a defense for the city and designed using the curves of the River Mincio. The particularity created by the Superiore, di Mezzo and Inferiore Lakes render Mantua with the unique visual effect of springing from the water as if it were a tiny, inland Venice.