San Sebastiano Church, Mantua

Ten years before his last Mantuan masterpiece – id est Sant'Andrea basilica -, Leon Battista Alberti designed this church for the Lateran canons, on the orders of marquis Ludovico II Gonzaga.

Despite the two staircases on the façade (which were added in 1925), the church is a magnificent example of early Renaissance architecture, with classical lines and innovative solutions – such as the open crypt, the five fornices and the inner Greek cross layout.

Today this church is a monument to the dead; once it hosted also the monument to the patriots executed by the Austrians in Belfiore, which now is in Belfiore itself.