than an arch to the courtyard. The facades are not so symmetrical as they appear and the spans between the columns are irregular. The centers of the North and South facades are pierced by two-storey arches without portico or pediment, simply a covered way leading to the interior courtyard. Few windows overlook the inner courtyard (""); the colonnaded walls are decorated on all sides by deep niches and blind windows, and the intervening surfaces are spattered by (broken and blemished plaster) giving life and depth to the surfaces. The frescoes are the most remarkable feature of the Palazzo. The subjects range from Olympian banquets in the and stylised horses in the to the most unusual of all — giants and grotesques wreaking havoc, fury, and ruin around the walls of the . These magnificent rooms, once furnished to complement the ducal court of the Gonzaga family, saw many of the most illustrious figures of their era entertained, such as the Emperor Charles V, who, when visiting in 1530, elevated his host Federico II of Gonzaga from Marquess to Duke of Mantua. One of the most evocative parts of the lost era of the palazzo is the , a small suite of intimate rooms arranged around a grotto and (covered balcony) where courtiers once bathed in the small cascade that splashed over the pebbles and shells encrusted in the floor and walls. Part of the Palazzo today houses the , endowed by the publisher Arnoldo Mondadori. It contains a collection of Mesopotamian art. Gallery References Summerson, John, The Classical Language of Architecture, 1980 edition, Thames and Hudson World of Art series, External links Official website Mantua tourist guide Palazzo Te at Google Arts & Culture Giulio Romano buildings Houses completed in 1534 Te Renaissance architecture in Mantua Fresco paintings in Mantua Mannerist architecture in Italy Historic house museums in Italy Egyptological collections in Italy Numismatic museums in Italy Art museums and galleries in Lombardy 1534 establishments in the Holy Roman Empire Museums in Mantua Gonzaga residences Loggias in Italy