The Museo Civico di Palazzo Te is housed in the magnificent suburban villa that Giulio Romano designed;built and decorated for Federico II Gonzaga between 1525 and 1535.The architectural structure of the building - a Mannerist masterpiece - is laid out around two large courtyards.The rooms on the ground floor;where the apartments of Federico Gonzaga and his guests were formerly located;still have the sumptuous fresco and stucco decorations executed by Giulio Romano and his assistants.The Chamber of Amor and Psyche and the Chamber of the Giants are two veritable gems of Mannerist art.
In the rooms on the upper floor various civic collections are on public display:the Gonzaga collection of cones;coins;seals;medals;weights and measures;the Mondadori donation featuring paintings by Federico Zandomeneghi and Armando Spadini;and two valuable archaeological groups:the "Giuseppe Acerbi" Egyptian collection and the "Ugo Sissa" Mesapotamian collection.