Description
The Church of Santa Paola is a 15th-century Gothic church in the center of Mantua, tied to a famous name: Isabella d'Este, the great Marchioness of Mantua, was buried here beside her husband Francesco II Gonzaga.
It was commissioned by Paola Malatesta, wife of Gianfrancesco Gonzaga, for the Poor Clares; work began in 1416 and ended in 1460 with Luca Fancelli's cloister. After Isabella's burial her daughter Livia, prioress of the convent, had the church frescoed: of Giulio Romano's work, traces survive of the funeral of Federico II.
Other Gonzaga rested in the church, among them its founder and Margaret Palaeologina. In 1965 the remains of Isabella, buried in a Franciscan habit, and of her husband were found and sealed in two numbered boxes; later they vanished from the sarcophagus. The convent, long a barracks and a factory, now houses a school.
It was commissioned by Paola Malatesta, wife of Gianfrancesco Gonzaga, for the Poor Clares; work began in 1416 and ended in 1460 with Luca Fancelli's cloister. After Isabella's burial her daughter Livia, prioress of the convent, had the church frescoed: of Giulio Romano's work, traces survive of the funeral of Federico II.
Other Gonzaga rested in the church, among them its founder and Margaret Palaeologina. In 1965 the remains of Isabella, buried in a Franciscan habit, and of her husband were found and sealed in two numbered boxes; later they vanished from the sarcophagus. The convent, long a barracks and a factory, now houses a school.