La Marasca

t is right in the absolute center of old Mantova and just minutes from all of the major sights. The place is clean and very spacious. The shower has great water pressure and was a particular highlight at the end of a long trip. We slept well on the beds and appreciate that there are extra blankets in the room. There is a little piazza just up the block that is bustling into the evening, and the bnb is only a 1 minute walk from the shopping street, but the apartment is very peaceful. We had no trouble finding free parking in early September at about 3pm along the city wall, so we were able to just forget about the car for a couple days. The wifi was great! Mario himself is a gentleman who obviously loves people, but he was also very respectful of our independence. In short, we felt that we really lucked out being able to stay here! Mantova seems to be somewhat overlooked by tourist hordes, but what a gem!! It reminded us a little of Seville in terms of the wonderful sparkling energy in the streets, but it is also *incredibly* beautiful and full of rich history.

Located in the center of the beautiful city of Mantova (Mantua) la Marasca is two minutes walking from the Ducal Palace and other attractions. Nearby are a lot of restaurants and cafes, and stores so it was very easy for us to go out to eat, shop, and sightseeing. The furniture is simple but comfortable

La Marasca is an apartment (self catering) in Mantova (or Mantua, if you like) and sometimes referred to as Alla Marasca. We stayed there for two nights in April 2006. We found it to be generally fully satisfactory. http://www.lamarasca.it/ The apartment comprises two bedrooms and a large sitting room and a small kitchenette. It is on the floor one up from the street and the friendly and accommodating owner lives directly over. The building and immediate neighborhood are very quiet, There is an excellent restaurant , the Osteria dei Canossa, in the Piazza Canossa just a few steps from the apartment. It requires about a four-five minute walk to get to the central and interesting Piazza del Herbe, maybe 15 minutes to walk to the train station and not more than 25 minutes to walk anywhere in the historic area of Mantova. The apartment is comfortable, but by no means elegant. The bed was good. The owner allows an option of renting only one bedroom and possibly sharing the center facilities with another lodger in the other bedroom, or just renting the whole place for the party in one bedroom, which is what we did. If you fancy a quiet, private place in a quiet neighborhood of an old Italian city, at a fair price, then La Marasca deserves a look. There are not a whole lot of accommodations in the historic center of Mantova. I regard La Marasca as a preferred place to stay because it such a non-touristy integral part of this historically interesting city.