 He agreed to sign for free with Mantova and proved instrumental to make telling passes as Mantova came close to promotion.In 2003–04 Caridi made 32 appearances, scoring 8 goals as Mantova earned promotion to Serie C1.In 2004–05 Mantova earned promotion to Serie B at their first attempt, with Caridi helping to create many of the goals with his technique and vision, as well as scoring 10 goals.