After parking the car outside the walls, we moved along the quiet laden of history streets of the town.
Finally, at Piazza Ducale, our eyes (and therefore the camera) caught an old man flying the Italian flag on the balcony.
Here the official part of our visit ended.

With the authority given him by his ancient nobility, the Count Michelangelo Moretti^[a], antiquarian for three generations, and, he says, the last Count of Sabbioneta, invited us to visit his palaces and his collections of antiques.
The special so transformed itself from a landscape/architectural one to a special about “human life”; we could however admire some unusual glimpses and views of Sabbioneta and the sight of a table (the Templar Table), that alone repaid the loss of visit to the other monuments of the town.

Therefore we highly thank the Count Michelangelo.

A short history:
Once property of the Leno Abbey and little unimportant village, it was transferred to the Gonzaga, Counts of Rodico and then Dukes of Sabbioneta, In 1446 it became an important cultural centre.
It was enriched by Vespasiano Gonzaga with palaces, monuments and churches. It was provided with theatre, library and mint, living then a short period of glory. At Vespasiano’s death (1591) the decay began, with frequent changes of dominion. With the Aquisgrana Peace (1748), it was annexed to Austria, and there it remained until the unification of Italy.

A note:
To visit the Ducal Palace (maybe designed by Vespasiano himself), the Summer Palace with the long antiques gallery in Piazza d’Armi, the Olympian Theatre (1590) built following the project of V: Scamozzi, the Incoronata Church and the tomb of Sebastiano Gonzaga with the bronze statue by L. Leoni.
The buildings, after centuries of oblivion, are at last under (very slow) renovation works.
August 2023 update.

[a] † 09 September 2019

For more info:
wikipedia: Sabbioneta
www.visitsabbioneta.it [EN]
www.turismosabbioneta.org