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Monuments of Brescia World Heritage Site

On 25 June 2011, the meeting of the 35th World Heritage Committee, held in Paris, included in the list of UNESCO world heritage assets, forming part of the "Longobards in Italy: places of power" site, the following monuments of Brescia:

The monumental area of the Roman Forum: constitutes the archaeological complex in which they are present the largest and best preserved public buildings from the Roman era existing in northern Italy. It is composed of the following monuments:

  • The republican sanctuary: it is located under the Capitoline temple. Built in the 1st century BC, it is the oldest building in the forum. It consists of four rectangular rooms placed side by side, inside which there are the original remains of the mosaic floor and wall frescoes comparable, both from a stylistic and conservative point of view, to those found in Pompeii. Since the spring of 2015, the westernmost hall has been open to public visits, while the rest of the building is still undergoing restoration and archaeological excavation work.
  • The Capitolium: built in 73 AD, it was the most important temple of ancient Brixia, in which the Capitoline Triad (Jupiter, Juno and Minerva) was venerated. It consists of three cells, a larger central one, and the others smaller in size, which retain much of the original polychrome marble floor. In front of them are the remains of the imposing portico, with columns having capitals in the Corinthian order, culminating in the tympanum, in which there is a dedication to the emperor Vespasian. Almost entirely buried by a landslide on the Cidneo hill, it was brought to light through various archaeological campaigns, which began in the nineteenth century. Since the spring of 2013, after new archaeological excavation and structural consolidation works, it has been reopened to the public.
  • The Roman theatre: is located immediately east of the Capitolium. It was built in the Flavian era and remodeled in the 3rd century. With its 86 meters wide, it is one of the largest Roman theaters in Italy, and could hold 15,000 spectators. It was heavily damaged by an earthquake in the 5th century, which caused the second and third tiers of steps to collapse. Furthermore, in the following centuries, its remains were incorporated into new buildings built there, which were demolished starting from the nineteenth century. Of the original structure, the semicircle-shaped perimeter walls, the first tier of steps (which are largely still underground), the two side exits and the remains of the auditorium and the scene have been preserved, as well as numerous fragments of columns and  ;friezes. The archaeological excavation works should resume in the coming years.

The Lombard monastic complex of San Salvatore-Santa Giulia: constitutes an extraordinary architectural palimpsest, today transformed into the Museum of Santa Giulia, which contains approximately 11,000 works of art and archaeological finds. It is composed of:

  • The Basilica of San Salvatore: the heart of the ancient Lombard monastery, it was built in 753 at the behest of the Duke of Brescia Desiderio, the future Lombard king, and his wife. Handle. Characterized by the contemporary use of Lombard styles and classical and Byzantine decorative motifs, it represents one of the greatest examples of early medieval religious architecture. The basilica has three naves and has a transept with three apses. There is also a crypt, also with three apses. Expanded in the following centuries, it preserves several works of art inside, including theStories of Saint Obizio painted by Romanino and theStories of the Virgin and the childhood of Christ by Paolo da Caylina the Younger.
  • The church of Santa Maria in Solario: built in the mid-12th century as a chapel inside the monastery, it has a square base and is divided into two internal levels. The lower floor is covered by four cross vaults supported in the center by an ancient Roman altar, while the upper hall is covered by a hemispherical dome and has three small apses dug into the east wall. Inside it preserves valuable frescoes by Floriano Ferramola, painted at the beginning of the sixteenth century, and two of the most important pieces of the ancient monastery's treasure: the Lipsanoteca di Brescia (consisting of a small ivory casket, dating back to the 4th century) and the Cross of Desire (made of silver and gold foil, studded with 212 precious gems.
  • The nuns' choir: between the basilica of San Salvatore and the church of Santa Giulia, was built between the end of the fifteenth century and the beginning of the sixteenth century as choir for San Salvatore. The building is on two levels: the lower floor constitutes the ancient covered churchyard intended to access San Salvatore. The upper floor is the actual choir, made up of a room covered by a barrel vault, connected to the east with San Salvatore via three small windows with grates, and to the west with Santa Giulia via a large arch. The interior of the choir is entirely covered with frescoes painted by Ferramola and Caylina, and several funerary monuments from the Venetian period are on display, including the Martinengo Mausoleum, one of the greatest masterpieces of Brescian Renaissance sculpture.
  • the church of Santa Giulia: it was built between 1593 and 1599. The façade is in Botticino marble, decorated with a double order of pilasters of the Corinthian order, divided by a rich marble frieze and connected to the sides with volutes. Inside, the church has a spacious single nave covered with a ribbed barrel vault. No sacred furnishings or decorations remain in the church. The frescoes that originally covered every surface have almost all disappeared and few traces remain on the walls of the side chapels and on the vault. All the side altars also disappeared. Although annexed to the monastery, it is not included in the visit itinerary of the Santa Giulia Museum and is used as a conference room.

The Domus dell'Ortaglia are also part of the UNESCO site ( are a group of ancient Roman domus , used between the 1st and 4th centuries, called in this way because they were found in the gardens (ortaglia) of the monastery of Santa Giulia), the sixteenth-century Palazzo Maggi Gambara, the seventeenth-century Casa Pallaveri and a portion of the ancient Decumano Massimo (today's Via dei Musei).

 

 Religious architecture

Brescia preserves several dozen churches in the historic center area belonging to every historical and artistic period, from Longobard to works of the most extreme eighteenth century , up to the products of nineteenth-century eclecticism. The old Duomo, the city's winter cathedral, is one of the most important examples of Romanesque rotunda in Italy, built in the 11th century and a precious container for various works of art, such as paintings by Moretto ;and of Romanino, a tomb of Bonino da Campione, the 8th century crypt and the large sepulchral ark of Berardo Maggi dating back to the beginning of the 14th century. Another example of Romanesque architecture is the small Church of San Faustino in Riposo, with its characteristic external cone shape.

Important evidence of Gothic architecture is the Church of San Francesco d'Assisi, with characteristic hut-like façade in rough stone with a large rose window, the church of Santa Maria del Carmine, built in the fifteenth century with many subsequent additions, and the church of the Santissimo Corpo di Cristo, defined as the >Sistine Chapel of Brescia for the rich cycle of Renaissance frescoes that adorns its interior. The church of Santa Maria dei Miracoli is the great masterpiece of Brescian Renaissance sculpture, with the façade by Giovanni Antonio Amadeo completely crafted in fine bas-relief flanked by sculptures by Tamagnino. Of notable interest, from the same historical period, is the church of San Giuseppe, the musical pantheon of Brescia with the tombs of the greatest personalities in the field, containing the largest ancient organ in the world, the work of the Antegnati family.

The greatest exponents of the city baroque are the church of Saints Faustino and Giovita (built by the architect Stefano Carrà) where the two patron saints of Brescia are buried, the new Cathedral, the summer cathedral, built in replacement of the ancient Basilica of San Pietro de Dom, and the church of Santa Maria della Carità, with its characteristic octagonal plan and the reproduction of the Holy House of Nazareth placed behind the main altar. The patronal church, in particular, preserves the large fresco of theApotheosis of Saints Faustino, Giovita, Benedetto and Scolasticaby Giandomenico Tiepolo, plus other sculptural and pictorial works of art. Of particular artistic importance is also the church of San Giovanni Evangelista with the Chapel of the Blessed Sacrament, half decorated with canvases by Moretto and half by those of Romanino. Another baroque monument, which absolutely stands out for its formal and architectural unity as it was built from scratch, is the church of Santa Maria della Pace, designed by the Venetian architect Giorgio Massari with pictorial works by Pompeo Batoni.

An example of neoclassical architecture is the collegiate church of Santi Nazaro e Celso, which houses the preciousAveroldi Polyptychby Titian. Finally, outside the church buildings there is the Monumental Cemetery of Brescia, designed by Rodolfo Vantini and built on several occasions during the nineteenth century. Also by Vantini is the Bonomini tomb, popularly called the "dog's tomb", designed on commission by the merchant Angelo Bonomini, which emerges with its neo-Gothic profile on the slope of Mount Maddalena.

 

Civil architecture

Among the works of civil architecture in Brescia, Piazza della Loggia stands out, the most homogeneous architectural complex in the city and an important example of a closed Renaissance square. The main building that forms the monumental backdrop to the square is Palazzo della Loggia, known more simply as "la Loggia", today the seat of the municipal council, built starting from 1492 under the direction of Filippino de' Grassi e finally completed in the sixteenth century under the supervision of Sansovino and Palladio. On the southern side of the square the two Monti di Pietà are aligned, the first - the "old" - fifteenth century and the second - the "new" - built at the end of the sixteenth century, whose facades represent the first Italian lapidary museum (in fact, a decree of the Special Council of the city of Brescia of 1480, sanctioned that the Roman era tombstones found in the area where these two buildings were built should be preserved for public use, therefore they were walled up along the walls of these buildings and used as ornaments ), while in the center of the east side stands the large astronomical clock. The Piazza della Loggia massacre took place in this square on May 28, 1974. The oldest center of power is the Broletto, the ancient municipal building located in Piazza del Duomo. The original nucleus of the building dates back to the thirteenth century, subsequently expanded several times in the fourteenth century (west wing overlooking the square), in the fifteenth century (east and north wings with renovation of the west wing) and in the seventeenth century ( internal transversal portico). The building is completed by the "Pégol" Tower, a 12th century civic tower.

In the context of private civil architecture, numerous buildings stand out along all the streets of the center historical, in particular those belonging to the powerful Martinengo family, for example the Palazzo Martinengo and Palazzo Maggi Gambara in Piazza del Foro, Palazzo Martinengo Colleoni di Malpaga in Piazzetta Sant'Alessandro and Palazzo Uggeri  p; along Via Musei. Another important building is the Teatro Grande, founded in 1664 and rebuilt several times, particularly in the eighteenth century and throughout the nineteenth century. The theater is known for hosting the important "Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli" International Piano Festival.

More recent are the railway station, built in neo-Romanesque style in 1854, and the Piazza della Vittoria, built in 1932 designed by the architect Marcello Piacentini by demolishing part of the ancient medieval historic center.

 

Military architecture

The Castle of Brescia ranks first among the ancient military architecture of Brescia that has come down to us: built in the thirteenth century by the Viscontis on a previous site, on the top of the hill ;Cidneo, was enlarged for the first time in the fifteenth century and then completed in the sixteenth century. Having ceased any strategic function in the mid-nineteenth century, the castle is today a huge public park which offers interesting walks among the ancient defense structures and a wide panorama of the entire city. The interior of the fortress houses two museums.

In the city, however, an important survivor is the Torre della Pallata at the eastern end of Corso Garibaldi, built in the thirteenth century and remodeled in the fifteenth century. At its feet there is a large baroque fountain, the work of Pietro Maria Bagnadore.

 

Natural areas

According to 2008 data, the city of Brescia can boast 26,334,910 m² of public green spaces and protected areas (of which 4,224,610 m² of equipped green areas, public and historical parks), which correspond to 139.68 m² of greenery per inhabitant. If we add to this the agricultural and wooded areas and the greenery of street furniture, the total surface area rises to 72,548,560 m², equal to approximately 80% of the municipal surface area. In 2008 Brescia won the first prizeThe city for green, awarded on the occasion of theFlormart-Miflor event, held in Padua.

The main green areas of Brescia are:

  • Parco delle Colli: with 3,100 ha of surface area (of which over 2,100 ha are included within the municipal boundaries), it is the largest green area extension of Brescia. It is a natural park established to preserve Monte Maddalena and the Ronchi, the hills that are located immediately north-east of the historic center;
  • Parco Tarello: it is the second largest park in the city (100,000 m²) and one of the most recent. It is located in Brescia 2, the modern area of the city, and is surrounded by the skyscrapers of the business center. Project by the Global studio of Lisbon;
  • Castle park: it can be considered the oldest park in Brescia and is the third in terms of surface area (96,235 m²). It extends along the slopes of Colle Cidneo, offering suggestive views of the historic centre;
  • Parco Ducos: it is one of the historic parks of Brescia and with its 55,540 m² of extension it constitutes an important green lung for the eastern area of the city. Inside there is a large lake where turtles and water birds live.