Napoleon's Early Art Thefts in Italy

Duomo de San Pietro. At first glance the most striking thing about the cathedral is how its façade differs from its main body. More than any other church in Mantua, the cathedral is an amalgam of different architectural styles, the most recent being the typically neo-classical façade finished in 1761. While the façade preceded Bonaparte’s invasion by only a few years, the cathedral’s Gothic right side was erected in the 16th century. It was, however, not the architecture that induced the French art commissioners to pay the cathedral a visit, but rather Paolo Veronese’s Temptation of St. Anthony from 1552. The painting was never returned and today it is to be enjoyed in the Musée des Beaux-Arts in Caen in France. Location: Piazza Sordello. Open to the public.

Church of Santissima Trinità. Commissioned by Vincenzo Gonzaga, the construction of the church was completed in 1597. Eight years later in 1605 a large triptych by Rubens to function as the church’s main altarpiece was finished. Here it was allowed to reside until a French art commissioner in the spring of 1797 had it short-listed for requisition, turning the church into an arsenal in the process. The size of the triptych meant that the commissioners saw no other way than to cut it into separate pieces. Only one of the sidepieces, however, the Transfiguration of Christ, ended up in the Louvre in Paris, though it was later transferred to a museum in Nancy because it was heavily damaged. The other sidepiece, the Baptism of Christ, was sold by an Italian art dealer and later acquired by the Royal Museum of Fine Arts in Antwerp in Holland. The last and at the same time most important centrepiece, the Gonzaga Family in Adoration of the Trinity, was also damaged by the removal, but has remained in Mantua and is now on display in the Palazzo Ducale. Today the church is part of a larger complex that houses Mantua’s state archives. Location: 9-11, Via Roberto Ardigò. Not open to the public.

Church of San Francesco. Located in the harmonious square between Il Rio and Palazzo d’Arco, the church dates back to 1304. Perhaps one of the reasons contributing to the French decision in 1797 to close down the church for worship and convert it into a storehouse was that the church had been an important burial place for many for the Gonzagas and was consequently oozing with feudal symbolism. It is not surprising then that the Capella dei Gonzaga, a side chapel containing the Gonzaga mausoleum and richly decorated by works of art and frescoes, suffered during the French occupation. The church remained a barracks until the end of World War II during the course of which it also suffered heavily from allied bombings. Only fragments of the original frescoes of the Gonzaga chapel remain. Location: Via Scarsellini. Open to the public.

Church of Santa Maria della Vittoria. Until the spring of 1797 Andrea Mantegna’s painting, the Madonna della Vittoria, shared the history of the church. Both church and painting were commissioned by Francesco II Gonzaga to commemorate his victory against the French in the Battle of Fornovo. Gonzaga actually lost the battle but the painting and the church were nevertheless finished in 1495. Travellers who wish to see it will have to travel to the Louvre in Paris. Location: Via Domenico Fernelli. Open to the public.