Sabbioneta

Sabbioneta, a small town in the Lombardy province of Mantua, lies about 30 kilometres north of Parma, close to the northern bank of the Po River. Designed and built in the late 16th century as an ideal Renaissance city by Vespasiano I Gonzaga, it was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2008. The town’s compact, star-shaped plan is a deliberate exercise in geometry and power, with its walls, palaces, and the Teatro all'Antica (the first free-standing theatre built in Europe) all conceived as a single, harmonious vision. It is also recognised as one of I Borghi più belli d'Italia, a testament to its preserved historical character.

Description via source. Coordinates and heritage data from the Atika atlas.