Skip to main content
Accessible version Accessible version
Beginning of Main Content

Villa Della Torre per Palazzo Te

Two masterpieces, two cities, one shared story.

 

Villa Della Torre and Palazzo Te, seemingly distant because of the miles separating Fumane and Mantua, are profoundly connected by the genius of Giulio Romano and a long history spanning the centuries. These echoes have inspired a fertile partnership that has taken different forms over time: three wines - a Valpolicella, a Lugana and an Amarone - whose labels feature three celebrated frescoes from Palazzo Te, the Chamber of the Giants, the Chamber of Cupid and Psyche and the Chamber of the Sun and Moon; the Gioco del Ramarro, an imagined journey between the two places through history and mythology; and, today, Spazio Te, the bistro at Palazzo Te managed by the Marilisa Allegrini Group and Villa Della Torre. An ongoing dialogue shaped by art, wine and conviviality.

Chamber of the Giants

The fresco in the Chamber of the Giants, one of Palazzo Te's most celebrated rooms, becomes the image of Villa Della Torre's Valpolicella Classico Superiore. The walls and vault portray the final act in the mythical war between the Titans and Jupiter, won by the latter and recounted in Ovid's Metamorphoses. At the centre of the vault, shown in daring foreshortening, stands Jupiter's throne inside a centrally planned temple. Just below is Jupiter himself, hurling thunderbolts at the Giants, while the gods of Olympus gather around him, bewildered and dismayed. On the walls, the Giants struggle in vain to shield themselves from the world collapsing upon them.

 

Find out more
Buy the bottle

Chamber of Cupid and Psyche

The frescoes in the Chamber of Cupid and Psyche become the labels for Lugana. The most sumptuous room in the palace takes its name from the tale of Cupid and Psyche, drawn from Apuleius' Metamorphoses and depicted across the vault and lunettes. The story culminates at the centre of the ceiling, where Jupiter joins Psyche and Cupid in marriage. The south and west walls portray preparations for a countryside banquet. There are two collectable labels: the 0.75 L bottle depicts the tale of Cupid and Psyche, while the 1.5 L and 3 L formats feature the fresco showing preparations for the banquet, where a vine forms the backdrop to a table flanked by a servant carrying a wineskin on his shoulders and Bacchus.

 

Find out more
Buy the bottle

Chamber of the Sun and the Moon

The decorations in the Chamber of the Sun and Moon become the image of Amarone, the signature wine of Valpolicella and Verona. The room takes its name from the fresco at the centre of the vault, depicting the chariots of the Sun and Moon. The vault's triangular sections are decorated with 192 coffers, in diamond and triangular shapes, featuring stucco reliefs against a pale blue ground that portray people, animals, emblems and the devices of the Lizard and Mount Olympus. There are two collectable labels: the 0.75 L bottle features a section of the vault, while the 1.5 L and 3 L formats reproduce the central fresco, with the chariot of the Sun setting and that of the Moon rising - a play of opposites and a metaphor for the ceaseless passage of time.

 

Find out more
Buy the bottle

 

The Green Lizard Game

Conceived and illustrated by Flaminia Veronesi, the Gioco del Ramarro reinterprets the classic Game of the Goose. Its name is rooted in the history of Palazzo Te: the green lizard appears repeatedly throughout the palace rooms and was chosen by Federico II Gonzaga as a symbol concealing a message of romantic torment. Across forty stages, the game takes players on an imagined journey from Villa Della Torre to Palazzo Te, discovering places and figures from history and mythology. The route also symbolically crosses the lands connecting the two complexes, from the hills of Valpolicella to the lakes of Mantua, weaving together art, landscape and imagination in an invitation to travel and wonder.

 

Find out more
Buy the game

Spazio Te

Spazio Te, the bistro at Palazzo Te, is managed by Villa Della Torre and the Marilisa Allegrini Group. Renovated in dialogue with Fondazione Palazzo Te, it extends into the outdoor garden between the fishpond and the Exedra and tells the story of the partnership between the two places through its colours, materials and illustrations from the Gioco del Ramarro. From breakfast to aperitivo, the menu showcases Mantuan and Veronese products and traditions, accompanied by the Group's wines. Spazio Te is also available for exclusive private events.