Lombardia · Mantova
Curtatone
A commune of eight frazioni west of Mantova, anchored by the Grazie sanctuary and the 1848 battle that delayed Radetzky's advance.
Picked by Peter Benei
Letter to come
Why Curtatone is on our list
It holds Borghi più belli d'Italia.
Subscribe and you get Curtatone's letter the day it comes out.
Visiting
- Best time
- Apr–Jun, Sep–Oct
- By car
- 48 min from Verona
- By train
- Station in the comune
- Population
- 14,739
- J8°
- F12°
- M15°
- A19°
- M23°
- J29°
- J31°
- A31°
- S26°
- O20°
- N13°
- D8°
- Best
- Hot or crowded
- Quiet
- Mostly closed
Daytime air temperature, averages for 2020–2024. Weather data by Open-Meteo.com.
Why come
Curtatone is a Mantova commune of eight frazioni in the Parco del Mincio, with its seat at Montanara and its most visited fraction at Grazie. The Santuario della Beata Vergine delle Grazie was commissioned in 1406 by Francesco I Gonzaga and stands on the edge of the Mincio's lower bend, surrounded by lotus flowers that bloom across the river in July and August. On 29 May 1848, Tuscan and Neapolitan volunteers held this stretch of ground against Austrian forces under Radetzky long enough for the Piedmontese army to reorganize at Goito the following day.
The battle is remembered nationally as Curtatone e Montanara. Every year around Ferragosto the Antichissima Fiera delle Grazie fills the square in front of the sanctuary; since 1973 the fair has hosted the Incontro Nazionale dei Madonnari, with over a hundred chalk artists working through the night on the pavement around the church.
How to get there
From Verona (VRN), about 50 min by car.
Bologna (BLQ) is about 1 h 21 min away.
By car from the center of Parma 1 h 3 min or Brescia 1 h 18 min.
There is a railway station in the comune, so you can arrive without a car.
Coming from Verona, Bologna or Venice?
Coming by train into Verona Porta Nuova? Curtatone is about 46 min away by road.
Every town within reach of Verona airport.
First time driving in Italy? Read our complete manual.
What to see
Santuario della Beata Vergine delle Grazie
1406 Gonzaga sanctuary on the Mincio bend, with a unique wooden ex-voto wall lining the nave, and the burial of Baldassarre Castiglione.
Parco del Mincio
Riverine nature reserve around Grazie, with lotus flower expanses that bloom mid-July through August on the lower Mincio.
Monument to the Battle of Curtatone and Montanara
Memorial to the 1848 stand by Tuscan and Neapolitan volunteers against Austrian forces under Radetzky on 29 May.
Chiesa di San Silvestro
Romanesque-origin parish church in the frazione of San Silvestro, one of Curtatone's eight subdivisions.
From the guides
Where to eat
Not our picks, but places the guides put their name to: a Michelin star, a Gambero Rosso fork, a Slow Food snail, a Michelin Key for the hotels. Worth a table, a counter, or a night when you pass through.
La Locanda delle GrazieTrattoria
A Michelin Bib Gourmand for La Locanda delle Grazie, and two Gambero Rosso prawns.
Before you sit down: how to order at a restaurant, how to spot a tourist trap, what aperitivo is and how the Italian bar works.
Living here
Could you live here?
Curtatone meets both of our rules for a small town.
- 14,739 people, inside our sweet spot of 5,000 to 20,000: a real town, still one community.
- Mantova, a city of 49,607, is 13 min by car. Closer than our 30 to 60 minutes: handy for everything, so check the town still keeps a life of its own.
- A station of its own. Trains are the overlooked way to get around Italy: no parking, straight into the center.
The rules come from our series Where to Move in Italy, written from the places we have lived: Part 1, The End of the Road · Part 2, The Small Town · Part 3, The City · Part 4, The Postcard · Part 5, The Other Half. The towns we would pick are in Part 6, The Best Towns.
- Population 14,739, down 1.1% since 2015
- Nearest city Mantua, 13 min drive
- Train station in the comune
- Nearest national health service hospital Mantova, 7 km as the crow flies · how healthcare works in Italy
- Homes in the center: €1,100 to €1,300 per m² to buy, €5.50 to €8.00 per m² a month to rent
Weighing a move here? See the moving year.
All the numbers Common questions, designations, lists and sources.
More about living here
- Commuter belt
- Pharmacy in town
- High school within a 30-minute drive
- Full fibre reaches 57% of homes
- Primary school in the comune
- Earthquake zone 3, low hazard
- Verona airport (VRN), 50 min drive, the nearest with scheduled flights
- Regional capital Milan, 2 h 14 min drive
If you are moving here
Who lives here
5% of residents are foreign citizens, most often from Romania, Brazil and India, against 9% across Italy. 11 of them come from English-speaking countries or western and northern Europe. There are 214 people over 65 for every 100 children under 15, against 216 across Italy. 13% of homes have no resident, holiday homes and empty ones counted together, against 27% across Italy. Mantua province ranks 34th of 107 in Il Sole 24 Ore's quality of life ranking for 2025.
Health and schools
The nearest emergency room is in Mantua, 7 km as the crow flies, and it is a major one. The nearest children's emergency room is in Verona, 41 km away. The nearest IB school is International School of Verona, 38 km as the crow flies.
Information, not medical advice. Confirm with a professional.
Taxes
A home that is not your main one pays 1.02% a year in property tax, charged on the cadastral value rather than the price. A main home pays none unless it is in a luxury category. The town adds 0.8% to your income tax, with nothing due on income under €15,000. 7% pensioner tax: this town is not in a qualifying area.
Information, not tax advice. Confirm with a professional.
What it costs
The average household in Lombardia spends about €2,410 a month, €510 of it on food, against about €2,170 across Italy. A family of three pays about €415 a year for water, on the Lombardia average. In Mantua, the provincial capital, in September 2026, an espresso cost €1.35, a meal in a pizzeria €13.90 and a man's haircut €20.84.
Climate and risk
It is in climate zone E, on a scale from A, the warmest, to F, the coldest, and heating may run from October 15 to April 15, up to 14 hours a day, unless the mayor changes it. 7% of residents live in a zone the national maps rate high for floods, 7% in a high or medium one. They show no residents in a high landslide zone.
These shares cover the whole comune, not any one street. Check an address on IdroGEO.
Moving from abroad? Which visa you need. Sources: ISTAT, the Ministry of Health, ISPRA, the Finance Ministry, the Ministry of Enterprise, Poste Italiane, the comuni, the IB, International Schools Database, Il Sole 24 Ore, Cittadinanzattiva.
Known for
SANTUARIO DELLE GRAZIE
1406 Gonzaga sanctuary in the Borghi più belli frazione of Grazie, with a wooden ex-voto wall unique in northern Italy.
1848 BATTLE
Tuscan and Neapolitan volunteers held the line on 29 May 1848 against Radetzky, slowing the Austrian advance toward Goito.
MADONNARI FAIR
Antichissima Fiera delle Grazie around Ferragosto, hosting the national chalk-pavement artists' gathering since 1973.
Common questions
- What is Curtatone known for?
- Curtatone is a commune of eight frazioni west of Mantova, anchored by the Grazie sanctuary and the 1848 battle that delayed Radetzky's advance.
- Where is Curtatone?
- Curtatone is a comune in the province of Mantova, in Lombardia, at 25 meters above sea level.
- What is the nearest airport to Curtatone?
- The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Verona (VRN), about 50 min by car.
- Can you get to Curtatone without a car?
- Yes. There is a railway station in the comune, so you can arrive by train.
- How long is the drive from Parma to Curtatone?
- About 1 h 3 min by car.
- When is the best time to visit Curtatone?
- Best in Apr–Jun, Sep–Oct. July is the warmest month, averaging 31 degrees, and May the wettest, with about 14 rain days.
- Which other towns are like Curtatone?
- Gorgonzola, Collecchio and Susegana.
- How many people live in Curtatone?
- 14,739 residents, by ISTAT's count on 1 January 2025.
- Is Curtatone a good place to live?
- By the rules in our Where to Move in Italy series, Curtatone is a small town that meets both of our rules. The nearest city, Mantova, is 13 min away by car. The nearest national health service hospital is in Mantova, 7 km as the crow flies. Full fibre reaches 57% of homes.
Tags & data designations · numbers · sources
Recognized as
The numbers
- Elevation: 25 m
- Population: 14,739
- Surface area: 67.47 km²
These figures were compiled from public directories: ISTAT, OpenStreetMap and Wikidata, and from the official listings of the guides named on this page. Town details change; verify with official sources before you travel.
The ranked lists
Lists Curtatone appears in
- The 6 prettiest villages in the province of MantovaMantova provinceprettiest villages6 towns · smallest 250 residents
- The best hidden towns with a serious restaurant that you can reach by train in LombardiaLombardiaby trainserious restauranthidden6 towns · smallest 666 residents
- The 7 prettiest villages inside a nature park in LombardiaLombardiainside a parkprettiest villages7 towns · smallest 1,103 residents
- The best towns that eat well within 75 minutes of ParmaNear Parmawithin 75 mineats well7 towns · smallest 4,693 residents · closest 4 min away
- The prettiest villages with a serious restaurant in LombardiaLombardiaserious restaurantprettiest villages7 towns · smallest 1,000 residents
- The best towns with a serious restaurant that eat well within 90 minutes of VeronaNear Veronawithin 90 minserious restauranteats well8 towns · smallest 1,500 residents · closest 34 min away
Similar
Towns like Curtatone
What all six share with Curtatone: in the Po valley · over 10,000 people · near sea level
Gorgonzola
Province: Milano
both have a railway station in the comune
Collecchio
Province: Parma
both have a railway station in the comune
Susegana
Province: Treviso
both have a railway station in the comune
Santarcangelo di Romagna
Province: Rimini
both have a railway station in the comune
Mantova
Province: Mantova
both have a railway station in the comune
Valeggio sul Mincio
Province: Verona
The letter
Curtatone is on our list. Its letter is still to come.
We are writing about all 1,000 of these towns, one at a time, in a free letter: the photo, what is worth eating, and when to turn up. That is our mission. Sign up and you will be there when Curtatone comes up. By Peter & Sophia, from Turin.
The nearest town we have written up is Abetone Cutigliano, 110 km away. Read its letter →
Paid plans, the moving year and the books are on the membership page.