The Ducal Palace Was the main residence of the Gonzaga family, lords, marquises and finally Dukes of the city. Under the Austrian domination with Maria Teresa of Austria it was called Palazzo Reale (Royal Palace)The palace was built in different times starting from the 13th century, first by the Bonacolsi’s and then by the Gonzaga’s. Duke Guglielmo Gonzaga in the second half of the 16th century started to give a unity to the buildings up to then detached one from the other. The task was given to the Chief of the Buildings Giovan Battista Bertani who created an enormous imposing complex (34.000 square meters) spreading from Piazza Sordello to the inferior lake. After Bertani’s death the works were carried on by Bernardino Facciotto who completed the unification of gardens, squares, loggias, galleries, exedras and courtyards giving the palace its final structure.The inside is now almost completely empty, the Gonzaga family being forced to sell their art collections to the king of England first, and the rest of their belongings being sacked in 1630 and finally taken away by Napoleon.