The house of the Counts of D’Arco, as appears in its current neoclassical form, was built after 1784 by commission from Gherardo D’Arco. The project was tasked to neoclassical architects Antonio Colonna and Paolo Pozzo. In the 1870s Countess Giovanna, the last heir of the noble house, bequeathed the building to the City of Mantua.
The palace looks as though it was still inhabited. The painting gallery has a remarkable collection, with works of art from the XV to the XVIII century, from Niccolo’ da Verona to Rubens, Van Dick, Luini, Sodoma, Bazzani, and Magnasco. The XIX century kitchen with its copper ware collection is quite interesting. Besides the semi-circular portion of the parade ground, the palace also features a romantic garden, the XVI century buildings that house Antonio d’Arco’s natural science collection and the Giovanni Maria Falconetto’s early XVI century grand fresco cycle at Sala dello Zodiaco.
