By motorhome
Tourists in the Park
Parco del Mincio
The definitive shrinking of the glacier which shaped the territory between the Garda lake and the Po river and led to an improvement of the climate, had also facilitated the appearance of the first stable settlements by the river Mincio since the 4th or 5th century B.C.
Since the Neolithic this side of the eastern Lombardy had played a particularly significant role: it was a border area of contacts, interactions, exchanges, wars and alliances, it was then a crossroads for the different cultures of the Bronze Age, where Celts, people from Venetia and the Etruscan civilization lived together. In the Early Middle Ages this territory also was the scene of the battles between Longobards and the Byzantine people. Along the river and near it there are many testimonies of the presence of these cultures, but only the Domus Romana in mantua and the Forcello Archaeological Park are accessible.
Researchers took a census of the other findings, that were covered in order to safeguard them, and the same happened for the non-monumental findings found during the building works.
These pages, therefore, offer a summary of the main archaeological researches carried out in the territory, through a mainly naturalistic itinerary. Visitors are asked to entrust especially to some places the recall of the situations and the landscapes where the ancient settlements were born and developed, places still characterized by their original features.
Itineraries realized within the system actions of the project "Terre del Mincio", Mincio Park leader authority, author Claudia Bonora Previdi.
Short guide: download
Title: "Archeomincio"
Book Series "Terre del Mincio", thematic itineraries.
Conception and publishing coordinator: Mincio Park.
Authors: Alberto Crosato and Raffaella Tremolada, archaeologists
Photographs: Archive of the Mincio Park, Lombardy's Authority for the Archaeological goods, Archaeological Museum of the Alto Mantovano, Forcello Archaeological Park, Alberto Crosato.
Thanks to: dott. Raffaella Poggiani Keller and dott. Elena Maria Menotti (Lombardy's Authority for the Archaeological goods), Adalberto Piccoli (Archaeological Museum of the Alto Mantovano), dott. Claudia Fredella (Forcello Archaeological Park).
Useful information:
For guided hikes along the described itineraries (for groups): didactic office of the Mincio Park: +39 0376 228320
Archaeological Museum of the Alto Mantovano, Cavriana, Piazza Castello, 5; Ph. and Fax +39 0376 806330; E-mail: museo.cavriana@libero.it - Opening hours: from Tuesday to Friday, from 9.00am to noon, Saturday, Sunday and holidays from 9.00 am to noon and from 3.00 pm to 6.00 pm (July and August from 4.00 pm to 7.00 pm); closed on working mondays and from the 16th of December to the 1st of February.
Mantua National Archaeological Museum, Mantova, Mantua, Piazza Castello; Ph. +39 0376 320003 - Fax +39 0376 318293; E-mail: sba-lom.mn.nucleooperativo@beniculturali.it - opening hours: from Tuesday to Saturday, from 8.30 am to 6.30 pm, holidays from 8.30 am to 1.30 pm; closed on working mondays
Domus romana of Piazza Sordello, Mantua, Piazza Sordello; Ass. "Rigoletto". Mantova Tourist Guides, Confcommercio, propose guided tours everday from Tuedsay to Saturday morning. For information: Tel. +39 0376 288208 - +39 338 8678017 - E-mail: info@guidemantova.info - Piazza Cavallotti, 1 - 46100 Mantova
Francesco Gonzaga Diocesan Museum of religious art, Mantua, Piazza Virgiliana, 55; Ph. +39 0376 320602 - +39 0376 319511 - Fax +39 0376 320602; E-mail: museofgonzaga@alice.it - opening hours: from Wednesday to Sunday from 9.30 am to noon and from 3.00 pm to 5.30 pm; on working mondays and Tuesdays open only for groups by previous booking.
Forcello Archaeological Park, S. Biagio di Bagnolo S. Vito, SS 413 "Romana", Via Valle; Ph. +39 0376 413317 (culture office of the municipalità of Bagnolo S. Vito); E-mail: info@parcoarcheologicoforcello.it - opening hours: from March to October everyday by previous booking, Saturdays and Sundays from 10.30 am to half past noon and from 3.30 pm to 6.30 pm; everyday by previous booking for guided visits and didactic workshops.
Virgiliano Archaeological Museum, Pietole di Virgilio, Via Parma, 34; Ph. +39 0376 440439 - open on demand.
River museum, Governolo di Bagnolo San Vito, via Nino Bixio, 10: ph. +39 340 886468 Pro Loco Bagnolo San Vito; open on Sundays until the 31st of December 2013, for single visitors or for groups of at least 10 participants.
Publication realized within the integrated project entitled "Terre del Mincio, waterfront dal Garda al Po" - European co-financing FESR, POR 2007-2013 - intervention 4.1.1.1 "Promotion and spread of a sustainable use of the protected areas system through the safeguard and the enhancement of the cultural and environmental heritage" - Region Lombardy - Mincio Park leader authority.
