It was built in 1476 by the architect Andrea Mantegna himself on a property donated to him by the Marquis Ludovico II. On the architrave leading to the room next to the large inside garden the inscription «Ab Olimpo» can be seen. The two-storey house is enclosed in a circular internal courtyard which naturally reminds its visitors of the oculum of the painted ceiling in the Camera degli Sposi. Mantegna's house is now property of the Provincial Administration of Mantova and hosts art exhibitions, while in the garden behind it several events from Festivaletteratura are usually staged.