Follow me to Mantua, Italy – #inLombardia365

This weekend, I will be heading back to Italy once again and this time, to the region of Lombardia, as part of its innovative #inLombardia365 project. The project is a year long journey of exploring the region (also home to Milan) through the eyes of local and international instagrammers, bloggers, and travel influencers.

But I’ll be skipping Milan this time around and heading out into lesser known areas to trace Italian culture and history.

On assignment as a weekend break, I will be getting beneath the quiet surface of Mantua which was named the 2016 Italian Capital of Culture because of its rich Rennaissance history. I love navigating a culture through its gastronomy, slow traditions, and everyday lifestyles. So in addition to Mantua’s classical architecture, I would love to learn more about its slow food traditions, try my hand at a cooking class, meet local artisans and learn about their crafts, and overall, slow down my pace to fully absorb all Mantua wants to share with me.

I will tour its historical churches and palaces including Teatro Bibiena, BibliotecaTeresiana, Palazzo della Ragione,Torre dell’Orologio, Basilica di Sant’Andrea, and Palazzo Ducale.  I’ll try my hands at making ravioli from scratch, and will head over to nearby Sabbioneta to explore its own Rennaissance trail.

Photography – Will be packing three lenses. My everyday street Nikkor 24-70mm travel lens, my wide angle  Nikkor 14-24 to capture those history-laden mosaics, murals, and facades, as well as a 50mm fixed lens for those low light situations, portraits, and intricate details.

I’ll be traveling around Lombardia with French travel blogger Laurène Philippot of Carnet d’Escapade and I’m looking forward to getting to know her as well.

So make sure you follow along using the #inLombardia365 and/or #inLombardia hashtags across social media and you can follow me at @LolaAkinmade.

I am exploring Mantua and the Lombardia region of Italy in collaboration with iambassador and Explora Tourism. As always, all thoughts, opinions, and travel content I share on here are my very own and are not directed by the partnership. iambassador is also our partner over at NordicTB.