Trascrizione
Castello di San Giorgio was not given this name until the nineteenth century but it was erected as the bastion of the city walls many centuries earlier, probably around 1397, the year in which Piazza Castello was the plàtea castri.
Just opposite, a bridge connected the city to the village of San Giorgio, across the lake formed by the River Mincio.
The military building was erected by order of the captain of the people of Mantua, Francesco I Gonzaga, whose territory was threatened by the policy of expansion put in place by Gian Galeazzo Visconti, Lord of Milan. It reflects a trend established during the fourteenth century of staying close to the urban fortifications.
The castle is the work of Novara engineer, Bartolino Ploti, and it shares many features with the Este castle in Ferrara, designed by the same architect. The square plan has a central courtyard with corner towers (also square) and shorter counter towers at the entrances.
A radical refurbishment of the castle was implemented from 1460, when the Gonzagas chose it as their Renaissance residence. The changes included addition of arcades to two sides of the courtyard, which now support the galleries, but work was chiefly internal, like the Camera degli Sposi.