Porto Mantovano
Let's discover the history of Porto Mantovano!
Hello friends! Today I will tell you about a beautiful town in the heart of Lombardy: Porto Mantovano! Porto Mantovano, also known as "Pòrt Mantuàn" in Mantuan dialect, is a scattered municipality of 16,546 inhabitants in the province of Mantua. The municipal seat is located in the district of Sant'Antonio.
History of Porto Mantovano
The history of this city has very ancient roots. We know that the first settlements date back to the Neolithic period, and that in the districts of Sant'Antonio and Bancole artifacts in flint and human remains dating back more than 6500 years ago have been found.
However, the origin of the name "Porto Mantovano" is much more recent. In fact, the first evidence dates back to some documents from the year 862 AD where a "Portus de Mantua" is mentioned. Subsequently, several inventories from the 10th and 11th centuries instead reported the phrase "In Portu Mantuano". The port referred to in these documents is the river port that was located near the present-day location called Cittadella, now part of the municipality of Mantova.
During the Gonzaga period, the village of Porto was equipped with walls and bastions that transformed it into an important defense structure. In those centuries, Porto was divided into three districts: Soave, Favorita and Schiarino. The main surrounding courts were aggregated to them. These settlements had, in 1617, about 1450 inhabitants. To these were added the 632 inhabitants of the "Borgo di Porto", the present-day Cittadella.
After the fall of the Gonzagas, the territory of Porto Mantovano also came under Austrian influence until 1797, when, after the long Siege of Mantua (1796), concluded with the Battle of Favorita, passed under the control of the French.
With the fall of Napoleon Bonaparte and the end of the short Kingdom of Italy (1805-1814), the territory of Porto Mantovano returned to the Austrians. The surrender to the Austrian troops was signed by the viceroy of the Kingdom of Italy (1805-1814) Eugenio di Beauharnais on April 16, 1814, with the Schiarino-Rizzino Convention, concluded in Porto Mantovano, at the homonymous court that today is called Corte Schiarino.
Porto Mantovano remained under Austrian rule until 1866, when Mantua was annexed to the nascent Kingdom of Italy (1861-1946). During the Austrian occupation of the nineteenth century, the Sant'Antonio Mantovano Station was built, which was inaugurated in 1851 by Archduke Ferdinand Karl Joseph of Austria-Este and Marshal Radetzky as the "Imperial Regia Stazione di Mantova".
Porto Mantovano assumed its current borders during the first half of the twentieth century, with the separation of the territories of Cittadella, Ponte Rosso, Gambarara and Colle Aperto, which were annexed to the municipality of Mantua.
Symbols of Porto Mantovano
The coat of arms and the banner of Porto Mantovano were granted by decree of the President of the Republic on January 12, 1967. The coat of arms depicts, on a blue background, a tower with a drawbridge accompanied by two silver sea horses emerging from the waves.
The symbol recalls the role of fortress defending Mantua, symbolizing the ancient reality of Porto, today's Cittadella, a fortress that watched over the entrance to the city through the bridge of the Mills, located between the Superior and Middle lakes, represented by the sea horses.
So, friends, if you have the opportunity to visit Porto Mantovano, do not hesitate! Its millenary history and its splendid symbols make it a unique and fascinating place.
