Things to See in Brescia | 2 Monuments & Landmarks

All the monuments in Brescia

The landmarks and masterpieces worth planning a day around.

Capitolium of Brescia, Italy

Capitolium di BresciaCapitolium of BresciaVespasian's Capitolium, Corinthian porch, Republican sanctuary frescoes, UNESCO Longobard siteVespasian dedicated this temple in 73 AD to the Capitoline Triad, Jupiter, Juno and Minerva, and its Corinthian porch still fronts Brescia's Roman forum after archaeologists partially rebuilt the columns around the original bases in the 1930s. Beneath the temple, excavations reached a Republican-era sanctuary whose painted walls, uncovered layer by layer, are counted among the oldest surviving frescoes in northern Italy; a fourth underground room from the first century BC opened to visitors only in 2015. The site anchors Brescia's UNESCO listing, granted in 2011 as part of the Longobards in Italy inscription, and the adjoining Roman theater ruins are still visible just behind the temple's three chambers, each aligned exactly with the forum below.Plan the visit

Museo di Santa GiuliaUNESCOSanta Giulia Museum8th-century Lombard monastery, Winged Victory bronze, Cross of Desiderius, UNESCO listing since 2011Brescia's city museum occupies the former monastery of San Salvatore-Santa Giulia, founded by the Lombard king Desiderius in 753 for his daughter Anselperga to lead as abbess, and the exhibition descends layer by layer through the building's own history, down through Lombard cloisters to Roman domus floors beneath. Its two treasures anchor opposite ends of that timeline: the gilded and jeweled Cross of Desiderius, an 8th-century masterwork of Lombard goldsmithing, and the Winged Victory, a Roman bronze rediscovered in 1826 and only identified as a reworked Aphrodite figure through conservation work. UNESCO listed the complex among Italy's Lombard heritage sites in 2011.

The Brescia guide

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