In and around Brescia
BRESCIA is notorious for its arms industry and considered to be the most monumental and tasteless fascist architecture.. No wonder, that Brescia does not often find a place on the excursion routes, most of which rush to Venice or towards the lakes. But popular opinion does not tell the whole truth about the city. There is also a large Roman temple here, numerous medieval and Renaissance tenement houses and an astonishing Romanesque cathedral. The elegant streets of the city are full of life, and the position of Brescia among the wealthier Italian cities is best seen during the evening passegiata on Corso Palestro.
Arrival, communication and accommodation
Located on the main railway line Milan-Verona Brescia, has good connections with the cities of both Veneto (Veneto), as well as Lombardy. Local trains run from here to Lecco, Lago d'Iseo and the Camonica Valley, once a day there is also a train to Pisa. Rest of the province, including the main resorts on Lake Garda and several further towns, is served by direct buses, departing from two stations located at the railway station (a short distance by bus or 15 Min. on foot from the city center). For more information, please contact the EPT office, Corso Zanardelli 34 (Mon-Thu. 8.30-12.30 i 15.00-18.30, Pt. 8.30-12.30 i 15.00-17.00).
Brescia has numerous hotels, of which the cheapest is Ai Giardini, Via Rubuffone 13 (•030/292250). It has double rooms for a price of just 14 OOOL, but it is located further from the center (access by bus #Q from the train station or another bus going through Porta Venezia). The best option for women is to stay overnight in a monastery on Via Fratelli Bronzetti 17 (*030/55837). Quiet hours apply there from 22.00, but the location is convenient and gives you the opportunity to use the kitchen. Many other hotels have rooms for less than 30 OOOL, for example. Calzavellia on Via Calzavellia (Corso Mameli block; • 030/43341), Camllino, Corso Garibaldi 31 (• 030/40213), or closer to Albergo Stazione station on Vicolo Stazione (Viale Stazione block; • 030/52128).
City
The center of Brescia are located behind the main Corso Palestro four squares. Piazza Mercato is a large cobbled square, which attracts not so much with its aesthetic values, what gastronomic. There is a supermarket on the square, under the dark arcades many small shops selling salami and cheese, and in addition, a weekly market is held here. Second square, Piazza Vittoria, is quite different and disturbing with the memory of the fascist regime, which is present here in the overwhelming austerity of Piacentrini's glittering marble rectangles. Behind the stately facades in the northern part of the square there is a post office, in the southern bank, and boutiques in arcades, gelaterie and pasticcerie, which at passeggiata attract numerous amateurs.
Next to the mail, Via 24 Maggio leads to the prettiest square of Brescia, XV-century Piazza della Loggia. The square dates back to the period, when the inhabitants asked the Venetians to take over the rule of the city to protect themselves from the power-hungry Viscontimi of Milan. Venetian influences are most visible in the Loggia decorated with beautiful festoons, in the construction of which Palladio and Titian took part, and in the tower modeled on the venetian st.. Brand Torre dell'Orologio. In the upper left corner of the square rises a medieval defensive gate, Porta Bruciata, at which in 1974 eight people were killed during the attack of the Red Brigades, and more than a hundred were wounded.
On the other hand, Porta Bruciata a small side street leads to Piazza del Duomo. It is one of the few squares in Italy, on which there are two cathedrals, although, to tell the truth, it would look better without the second of them, typically Mannerist building, which was erected for more than 200 years. Trying, Twelfth-century cathedral, also called Rotonda, is completely different: it's simple, built of local stone round building, whose elegant proportions are difficult to see from the outside, because the level of the cathedral is currently much lower than the level of the square. The partially glazed floor allows you to see the remains of a Roman bath inside (walls and mosaics made of geometric patterns) and the apse burned in 1097 year of the basilica from the VIII century. The most interesting, however, is the wonderful, made of red marble, tomb of the thirteenth-century bishop of Brescia, Berardo Maggi, which is located opposite the entrance. One side is decorated entirely with a sculpture of the figure of this priest, and the reliefs on the other commemorate the peace brought to the city by Maggi, between the warring parties of the Guelphs and Gibellins, and show clergy and dignitaries, who walk in procession among the joyful crowd of residents.
Behind Piazza del Duomo, Via Mazzini leads to Via Musei, at which there are few remains of the Roman city of Brixia. Apart from the theatre visible only through the fence, in which archaeological works are currently underway, the most important object is built in the year 73 CE, currently partially reconstructed with brick, Roman temple of Capitolino (Tue-Sun 10.15-13.00 i 14.00-18.00). Behind the temple there are three reconstructed cells, which were probably temples of the Capitoline Trinity of Jupiter, Juno and Minerva, and now contain fragments of carved funerary monuments and floor mosaic. On the first floor an excellent museum was organized, which has a jewellery exhibition, Glass, Sculptures, bronze objects, fragments of mosaics, as well as a large-sized winged statue of the goddess Victoria.
Further along the Via dei Musei there is a functioning from VIII to XVIII in. Abbey of San Salvatore, which in its main building now houses a gallery of contemporary art, and in the Church of Santa Giulia a museum of Christian art. The latter, among its leading exhibits, has a ivory chest from the fourth century decorated with vivid biblical scenes.. and given to the abbey by the king of the Lombards, Desiderius, silver-plated, inlaid over 200 expensive stones and camellias wooden crucifix from the VIII century. Unfortunately, however, they cannot be seen, because the museum has recently hosted only temporary exhibitions. Through the glass placed at the back of the church, it is also worth looking at the remains of the Byzantine Basilica of San Salvatore.
Via Piamarta climbs up behind the museum, to the Cidney Hill, the very center of the early Roman settlement of Brixia, already mentioned by Catullus, of which there is not much left here. Opposite the sixteenth-century church of San Floor in Oliveto, so called because of the surrounding olive grove, there are several fragments of the old gate, and the hill itself is crowned by Luchino Visconti in the fifteenth century. and expanded by successive rulers of the city, Venetians, French and Austrians, Castello. Tangle of towers, Fortifications, residential buildings and courtyards house Italy's largest arms museum, railway model museum and small zoo, and is a good place for a trip.
More interesting is the main art gallery in Brescia, Pinacoteca Tosio-Martinengo (Tue-Sun. 10.15-13.00 i 14.00-18.00; 2000L), although her collections contain mainly works by minor local artists. It is worth paying attention to the work of Titian, who is heavily influenced by Titian, Sixteenth-century painter Romanino, and paintings by the seventeenth-century realist Ceruti, who, unusually for his time, specialized in painting the poor.
Gastronomy and nightlife
There is no shortage of restaurants in Brescia, but none of them are particularly cheap. Located opposite the Rotonda Bar Bar is a good place, if you want to stuff your stomach with bar snacks for free, and near the university, on Corso Mameli, there are numerous pizzerias and places specializing in takeaway dishes. The best pizzeria in town is Bersaglieri on Corso Magenta, which serves quite cheap vegetarian, wholemeal (integrale) Pizza, and in Altamira, right next to Piazza Duomo, you can eat quite unusual, Healthy (but not vegetarian) Dinner.
In the evenings, bars and ice cream parlors in the center are open, as well as Arancia Meccanica ('Clockwork Orange”), student pub on Via Sovera (at the beginning of Corso Mameli), which almost every Friday evening hosts music bands.
Surroundings of Brescia
Because from Brescia it is easy to get to Lago di Garda and the mountainous Val Trompia, spending time exploring quite average attractions in the immediate vicinity of the city does not seem to make sense. Wine lovers can, however, go to the area between Brescia and Lago d'Iseo, called Franciacorta. The wavy one, vine-planted area, located behind the monotonous, built-up plain around the city, derives its name from religious sects, who have lived here since the eleventh century. The activities of these sects and their land were exempt from paying tax and were therefore known as Corti Franche, that is, "free courts”. Soon vine growers began to cultivate the land here, encouraged by the possibility of having tax-free wines, and so it has remained to this day, although taxes apply here the same way now, like elsewhere. Little known, but tasty wine can be bought in all the shops of this area.
Having half a day off in Brescia, you can go to the Badia di Rodengo Abbey located on the edge of the village of the same name (codz. 9.00-12.00 i 15.00-18.00, in summer to 20.00). It has a church richly decorated with frescoes, magnificent stucco and illusionist paintings, and a separate room is decorated with scantily clad figures, which seem to ascend into the cloudy sky. The most interesting is the opportunity to look at the life of five local monks, their primitive cuisine, neglected library and raw, quiet corridors of the abbey. Entrance is free of charge, although don Antonio, who gives a tour of the abbey, often asks to be sent stamps to his collection. The monks also offer free accommodation and meals., but you have to remember, that they themselves are not rich.
Getting to the abbey. Express buses (espresso) they are driving on the highway and you have to be careful, because drivers often do not stop at the stop at the yellow marked signpost to the abbey. From here you walk ten minutes behind the signs. However, when taking a local bus, you have to get off in the center of the village of Rodengo and go back a bit along the main road towards the highway.