Mantua

Mantegna's ceiling, then Giulio Romano's giants

Two days in Mantua covers the Palazzo Ducale and Mantegna's Camera degli Sposi, booked as a timed slot, then the Rotonda di San Lorenzo and Sant'Andrea on day one. Day two is for Palazzo Te and Giulio Romano's Sala dei Giganti, a boat trip or bike ride on the lakes, and the Teatro Bibiena.

Give the first morning to Palazzo Ducale around Piazza Sordello, with a timed slot for the Camera degli Sposi in the Castello di San Giorgio. Mantegna's ceiling, with its painted opening to the sky, rewards a slow look. Lunch near Piazza delle Erbe, then step into the Rotonda di San Lorenzo and Alberti's Sant'Andrea next door, where a relic of the Holy Blood is kept.

In the late afternoon walk along the lakefront, then have an aperitivo back in the squares.

On day two walk south to Palazzo Te for Giulio Romano's frescoes, saving the Sala dei Giganti for last. In the afternoon take a boat trip on the lakes or ride a bike along the shore of Lago Superiore. End with a look inside the Teatro Bibiena, the small 18th-century theatre where a teenage Mozart played, and a slice of sbrisolona from a pasticceria.

Tortelli di zucca, risotto alla pilota and sbrisolona

Mantua's signature dish is tortelli di zucca, pasta filled with pumpkin, crushed amaretti and mostarda, dressed with butter and sage. Risotto alla pilota with crumbled salami is the other classic, and pike from the lakes comes with green sauce. Finish with sbrisolona, a crumbly almond cake, and a glass of Lambrusco.

Mantuan cooking is rich and leans sweet-savoury. The dish everyone orders is tortelli di zucca, pasta filled with pumpkin, crushed amaretti and mostarda, usually dressed with melted butter and sage. Risotto alla pilota, made with the rice grown in the plains around the city and topped with crumbled salami, is the other classic.

Mostarda, fruit preserved in a mustard-spiked syrup, turns up with boiled meats and cheese. Pike from the lakes is served with a green sauce in traditional trattorie. For dessert, sbrisolona is a dry, crumbly almond cake meant to be broken by hand and shared.

Eat around Piazza delle Erbe and the streets behind it, where trattorie set tables under the arcades. Drink a glass of the local Lambrusco with it.

Lotus lakes, Festivaletteratura and Sabbioneta

Mantua is ringed by three lakes created in the 12th century as a defensive moat, and in July and August lotus flowers spread across Lago Superiore. Festivaletteratura, the book festival in early September, fills every spare room. Sabbioneta, which shares Mantua's UNESCO listing, is an easy drive, and Verona is a short train ride.

The three lakes around the city, Superiore, di Mezzo and Inferiore, were created in the 12th century as a defensive moat fed by the Mincio. Boat trips run on the lakes and along the river towards the Po. In July and August, lotus flowers spread across parts of Lago Superiore, one of the odd sights of a Mantuan summer.

The biggest event is Festivaletteratura in early September, a book festival that fills courtyards and squares with readings and talks. Writers and their audiences take every spare room while it runs, so anyone not coming for the books should pick another week. Late spring and early autumn are otherwise the comfortable months; winter brings fog off the lakes, and July can be close and airless on the plain.

For a day out, Sabbioneta, a small Renaissance town laid out by a branch of the Gonzaga family, shares Mantua's UNESCO listing and makes an easy drive. The southern shore of Lake Garda is under an hour's drive north, and Verona is a short train ride away.