Brescia (, locally ; lmo, link=no, label= Lombard, Brèsa ; lat, Brixia; vec, Bressa) is a city and '' comune'' in the region of

Lombardy Lombardy ( it, Lombardia, Lombard language, Lombard: ''Lombardia'' or ''Lumbardia' '') is an administrative regions of Italy, region of Italy that covers ; it is located in the northern-central part of the country and has a population of about 10 ...

Northern Italy Northern Italy ( it, Italia settentrionale, it, Nord Italia, label=none, it, Alta Italia, label=none or just it, Nord, label=none) is a geographical and cultural region in the northern part of Italy. It consists of eight administrative regions ...

. It is situated at the foot of the Alps, a few kilometers from the lakes Garda and Iseo. With a population of more than 200,000, it is the second largest city in the administrative region and the fourth largest in northwest Italy. The urban area of Brescia extends beyond the administrative city limits and has a population of 672,822, while over 1.5 million people live in its

metropolitan area A metropolitan area or metro is a region that consists of a densely populated urban agglomeration and its surrounding territories sharing industries, commercial areas, transport network, infrastructures and housing. A metro area usually com ...

. The city is the administrative capital of the Province of Brescia, one of the largest in Italy, with over 1,200,000 inhabitants. Founded over 3,200 years ago, Brescia (in antiquity Brixia) has been an important regional centre since pre-Roman times. Its old town contains the best-preserved Roman public buildings in northern Italy and numerous monuments, among these the medieval castle, the

Old Old or OLD may refer to: Places *Old, Baranya, Hungary *Old, Northamptonshire, England *Old Street station, a railway and tube station in London (station code OLD) *OLD, IATA code for Old Town Municipal Airport and Seaplane Base, Old Town, Mai ...

and New cathedral, the Renaissance ''Piazza della Loggia'' and the rationalist ''Piazza della Vittoria''. The monumental archaeological area of the Roman forum and the monastic complex of San Salvatore-Santa Giulia have become a UNESCO World Heritage Site as part of a group of seven inscribed as Longobards in Italy, Places of Power. Brescia is considered to be an important industrial city. Metallurgy and production of metal parts, machine tools and firearms are of particular economic significance, along with mechanical and automotive engineering. Among the major companies based in the Brescia metro area there are utility company

A2A A2A S.p.A. is an Italian company, organised as a ''società per azioni'', that generates, distributes, and markets renewable energy, electricity, gas, integrated water supply, and waste management services. The company has significant presence in ...

, automotive manufacturer OMR, steel producers Lucchini and Alfa Acciai, machine tools producers Camozzi and Lonati, firearms manufacturers Fausti, Beretta and Perazzi, gas equipment manufacturers Sabaf and Cavagna, etc. Brescia is home to the prestigious Mille Miglia classic car race that starts and ends in the town. In the arts, it was nicknamed ''Leonessa d'Italia'' ("The Lioness of Italy") by Gabriele d'Annunzio, who selected Gardone Riviera (nearby on the shores of Garda Lake) as his final residence. The estate he built (largely thanks to state-sponsored funding) il

Vittoriale The Vittoriale degli italiani (English translation: ''The shrine of victories of the Italians'') is a hillside estate in the town of Gardone Riviera overlooking Lake Garda in province of Brescia, in Lombardy. It is where the Italian poet and novel ...

, is now a public institution devoted to the arts; a museum dedicated to him is hosted in his former residence. Brescia is also the setting for most of the action in Alessandro Manzoni's 1822 play ''

Adelchi ''Adelchi'' () is the second tragedy written by Alessandro Manzoni.Banham (1998, 678). It was first published in 1822. The main character is Adelchis, a Longobard prince torn by the inner conflict between his father Desiderio's will and his own ...

''. The province is known for being the production area of the

Franciacorta The territory of Franciacorta, from Latin "franchae curtes", which means "exempted from paying duties", is a section of the Province of Brescia in the Italian Region of Lombardy. Franciacorta is known for its wine production and includes world-f ...

sparkling wine, as well as the main source of Italian-produced caviar. Brescia with her territory was the "European Region of Gastronomy" in 2017.

History

Ancient era

Parco archeologico di Brescia romana Vittoria alata Brescia

Various myths relate to the founding of Brescia: one assigns it to Hercules while another attributes its foundation as ''Altilia'' ("the other Ilium") by a fugitive from the siege of Troy. According to another myth, the founder was the king of the Ligures, Cidnus, who had invaded the

Padan Plain The Po Valley, Po Plain, Plain of the Po, or Padan Plain ( it, Pianura Padana , or ''Val Padana'') is a major geographical feature of Northern Italy. It extends approximately in an east-west direction, with an area of including its Venetic ex ...

in the late Bronze Age. ''Colle Cidneo'' (Cidnus's Hill) was named after that version, and it is the site of the medieval castle. This myth seems to have a grain of truth, because recent archaeological excavations have unearthed remains of a settlement dating back to 1,200 BC that scholars presume to have been built and inhabited by Ligures peoples. Others scholars attribute the founding of Brescia to the

Etruscan __NOTOC__ Etruscan may refer to: Ancient civilization *The Etruscan language, an extinct language in ancient Italy *Something derived from or related to the Etruscan civilization **Etruscan architecture **Etruscan art **Etruscan cities **Etruscan ...

s. The Gallic

Cenomani The Gaulish name Cenomani can refer to: * Aulerci Cenomani, an ancient Gallic tribe dwelling around modern Le Mans * Cenomani (Cisalpine Gaul) The Cenomani (Greek: , Strabo, Ptol.; , Polyb.), was an ancient tribe of the Cisalpine Gauls, who ...

, allies of the Insubres, invaded in the 7th century BC, and used the town as their capital. The city became Roman in 225 BC, when the Cenomani submitted to the Romans. During the

Carthaginian Wars The Punic Wars were a series of wars between 264 and 146BC fought between Rome and Carthage. Three conflicts between these states took place on both land and sea across the western Mediterranean region and involved a total of forty-three yea ...

, 'Brixia' (as it was called then) was allied with the Romans. During a Celtic alliance against Rome the city remained faithful to the Romans. With their Roman allies the city attacked and destroyed the Insubres by surprise. Subsequently, the city and the tribe entered the Roman world peacefully as faithful allies, maintaining a certain administrative freedom. In 89 BC, Brixia was recognized as ''civitas'' ("city") and in 41 BC, its inhabitants received Roman citizenship. Augustus founded a civil (not military) colony there in 27 BC, and he and Tiberius constructed an aqueduct to supply it. Roman Brixia had at least three temples, an aqueduct, a theatre, a forum with another temple built under

Vespasianus Vespasian (; la, Vespasianus ; 17 November AD 9 – 23/24 June 79) was a Roman emperor who reigned from AD 69 to 79. The fourth and last emperor who reigned in the Year of the Four Emperors, he founded the Flavian dynasty that ruled the Empi ...

, and some baths. When

Constantine Constantine most often refers to: * Constantine the Great, Roman emperor from 306 to 337, also known as Constantine I * Constantine, Algeria, a city in Algeria Constantine may also refer to: People * Constantine (name), a masculine given na ...

advanced against

Maxentius Marcus Aurelius Valerius Maxentius (c. 283 – 28 October 312) was a Roman emperor, who reigned from 306 until his death in 312. Despite ruling in Italy and North Africa, and having the recognition of the Senate in Rome, he was not recognized ...

in 312, an engagement took place at Brixia in which the enemy was forced to retreat as far as Verona. In 402, the city was ravaged by the Visigoths of

Alaric I Alaric I (; got, 𐌰𐌻𐌰𐍂𐌴𐌹𐌺𐍃, , "ruler of all"; c. 370 – 410 AD) was the first king of the Visigoths, from 395 to 410. He rose to leadership of the Goths who came to occupy Moesia—territory acquired a couple of decades ...

. During the 452 invasion of the Huns under

Attila Attila (, ; ), frequently called Attila the Hun, was the ruler of the Huns The Huns were a nomadic people who lived in Central Asia, the Caucasus, and Eastern Europe between the 4th and 6th century AD. According to European traditio ...

, the city was besieged and sacked. Forty years later, it was one of the first conquests by the Gothic general Theoderic the Great in his war against

Odoacer Odoacer ( ; – 15 March 493 AD), also spelled Odovacer or Odovacar, was a soldier and statesman of barbarian background, who deposed the child emperor Romulus Augustulus and became Rex/Dux (476–493). Odoacer's overthrow of Romulus Augustul ...

Middle Ages

In 568 (or 569), Brescia was taken from the Byzantines by the Lombards, who made it the capital of one of their semi-independent duchies. The first duke was Alachis, who died in 573. Later dukes included the future kings of the Lombards

Rothari Rothari (or Rothair) ( 606 – 652), of the Harodingi, house of Arodus, was king of the Lombards from 636 to 652; previously he had been duke of Brescia. He succeeded Arioald, who was an Arianism, Arian like himself, and was one of the most energe ...

and Rodoald, and Alachis II, a fervent anti-Catholic, who was killed in battle at

Cornate d'Adda Cornate d'Adda (''Curnàa'' in the Brianza dialect, and simply Cornate until 1924) is a ''comune'' of 10,799 inhabitants in the province of Monza and Brianza, and it is 21 km away from Monza, the provincial capital. It is part of the '' Vimerca ...

in 688. The last king of the Lombards, Desiderius, also held the title Duke of Brescia. In 774, Charlemagne captured the city and ended the presence of the Lombard kingdom in northern Italy. Notingus was the first (prince-)bishop (in 844) who bore the title of count (see

Bishopric of Brescia The Roman Catholic Diocese of Brescia ( la, Dioecesis Brixiensis) is a Latin rite suffragan diocese in the ecclesiastical province of the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Milan, in Lombardy (Northwestern Italy).Louis II the Younger, Brescia became ''de facto'' capital of the Holy Roman Empire. Later the power of the bishop as imperial representative was gradually opposed by the local citizens and nobles, resulting in Brescia becoming a

free commune Medieval communes in the European Middle Ages had sworn allegiances of mutual defense (both physical defense and of traditional freedoms) among the citizens of a town or city. These took many forms and varied widely in organization and makeup. C ...

around the early 12th century. Subsequently, it expanded into the nearby countryside, first at the expense of the local landholders, and later against the neighbouring communes, notably

Bergamo Bergamo (; lmo, Bèrghem ; from the proto- Germanic elements *''berg +*heim'', the "mountain home") is a city in the alpine Lombardy region of northern Italy, approximately northeast of Milan, and about from Switzerland, the alpine lakes Como ...

and

Cremona Cremona (, also ; ; lmo, label= Cremunés, Cremùna; egl, Carmona) is a city and ''comune'' in northern Italy, situated in Lombardy, on the left bank of the Po river in the middle of the ''Pianura Padana'' ( Po Valley). It is the capital of th ...

. Brescia defeated the latter twice at Pontoglio, then at the Grumore (mid-12th century) and in the battle of the Malamorte (Bad Death) (1192). In 1138, Brescia experienced a communal revolt against the local Bishop Manfred led by radical reformer and Canons regular

Arnold of Brescia Arnold of Brescia ( 1090 – June 1155), also known as Arnaldus ( it, Arnaldo da Brescia), an Italian canon regular from Lombardy, called on the Church to renounce property-ownership and participated in the failed Commune of Rome of 1144� ...

. This revolt broke out due to the city's involvement in the ecclesiastical and political conflict that resulted from the

1130 papal election The 1130 papal election (held February 14) was convoked after the death of Pope Honorius II and resulted in a double election. Part of the cardinals, led by Cardinal-Chancellor Aymeric de la Chatre, elected Gregorio Papareschi as Pope Innocent I ...

. This controversial election divided the College of Cardinals and caused a schism between

Pope Innocent II Pope Innocent II ( la, Innocentius II; died 24 September 1143), born Gregorio Papareschi, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 14 February 1130 to his death in 1143. His election as pope was controversial and the fi ...

(who had the minority vote) and

Antipope Anacletus II Anacletus II (died January 25, 1138), born Pietro Pierleoni, was an antipope who ruled in opposition to Pope Innocent II from 1130 until his death in 1138. After the death of Pope Honorius II, the college of cardinals was divided over his succ ...

(who had the majority vote). During the early 1130s, when Anacletus had power over Brescia, he appointed Bishop Villanus to the diocese, but in 1132 Innocent regained control and installed Manfred. Despite Manfred supporting the reformed clergy, which Brescia had historical supported with its proximity to Milan and the

Pataria The ''pataria'' was an eleventh-century movement focused on the city of Milan in northern Italy, which aimed to reform the clergy and ecclesiastic government within the city and its ecclesiastical province, in support of papal sanctions against si ...

reform movement in the 11th century, Manfred was cast out as he clashed with the growth of the commune and the local nobility. The revolt began around 1135 and was manageable at first, but by 1138 Manfred was forced to seek papal support and left for Rome. Arnold is believed to have joined the revolt around this time, as contemporary historian

John of Salisbury John of Salisbury (late 1110s – 25 October 1180), who described himself as Johannes Parvus ("John the Little"), was an English author, philosopher, educationalist, diplomat and bishop of Chartres. Early life and education Born at Salisbury, En ...

records that Arnold only 'so swayed the minds of the citizens that they would scarcely open their gates to the bishop on his return.' Manfred was therefore forced to return to Rome and was likely witness to the Second Council of the Lateran in 1139, after which he obtained Pope Innocent's support and had Arnold exiled from Italy. Arnold's home was Brescia, but he would never return to the city; instead he developed his reform ideology while in exile and continued to dissent against the Church. He worked with intellectual

Peter Abelard Peter Abelard (; french: link=no, Pierre Abélard; la, Petrus Abaelardus or ''Abailardus''; 21 April 1142) was a medieval French scholastic philosopher, leading logician, theologian, poet, composer and musician. This source has a detailed desc ...

(who he potentially studied under in the 1110s) who was condemned of heresy at the

Council of Sens The Councils of Sens were a number of church councils hosted by the Archdiocese of Sens. The first, around 600 or 601, in conformity with the instructions of pope St. Gregory the Great advised against simony. St. Columbanus refused to attend it ...

1141 and went on to join the Commune of Rome in 1148, which led to his execution by

Frederick Barbarossa Frederick Barbarossa (December 1122 – 10 June 1190), also known as Frederick I (german: link=no, Friedrich I, it, Federico I), was the Holy Roman Emperor from 1155 until his death 35 years later. He was elected King of Germany in Frankfurt on ...

and

Pope Adrian IV Pope Adrian IV ( la, Adrianus IV; born Nicholas Breakspear (or Brekespear); 1 September 1159, also Hadrian IV), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 4 December 1154 to his death in 1159. He is the only Englishman t ...

in 1155.

During the struggles of the 12th and 13th centuries between the Lombard cities and the Holy Roman emperors, Brescia was implicated either in league with the emperors or against them. In the

Battle of Legnano The Battle of Legnano was a battle between the imperial army of Frederick Barbarossa and the troops of the Lombard League on May 29, 1176, near the town of Legnano in present-day Lombardy, in Italy. Although the presence of the enemy nearby wa ...

the contingent from Brescia was second in size to that of Milan. The

Peace of Constance The Peace of Constance (25 June 1183) was a privilege granted by Frederick I, Holy Roman Emperor, and his son and co-ruler, Henry VI, King of the Romans, to the members of the Lombard League to end the state of rebellion (war) that had been ong ...

(1183) that ended the war with

confirmed officially the free status of the ''comune''. In 1201 the '' podestà''

Rambertino Buvalelli Rambertino di Guido Buvalelli (1170 or 1180 – September 1221), a Bolognese judge, statesman, diplomat, and poet, was the earliest of the ''podestà''-troubadours of thirteenth-century Lombardy. He served at one time or other as ''podestà ...

made peace and established a league with Cremona, Bergamo, and Mantua. Memorable also was the siege laid by the Emperor Frederick II in 1238 on account of the part taken by Brescia in the

Battle of Cortenova The Battle of Cortenuova (sometimes spelled Cortenova) was fought on 27 November 1237 in the course of the Guelphs and Ghibellines Wars: in it, Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II defeated the Second Lombard League. Background In 1235 Emperor ...

(1237). Brescia came through this assault victorious. After the fall of the Hohenstaufen, republican institutions declined in Brescia as in the other free cities and the leadership was contested between powerful families, chief among them the Maggi and the Brusati, the latter of the (pro-imperial, anti-papal) Ghibelline party. In 1258 the city fell into the hands of Ezzelino da Romano. In 1311 Emperor Henry VII laid siege to Brescia for six months, losing three-fourths of his army. Later the Scaliger of Verona, aided by the exiled Ghibellines, sought to place Brescia under subjugation. The citizens of Brescia then had recourse to

John of Luxemburg John the Blind or John of Luxembourg ( lb, Jang de Blannen; german: link=no, Johann der Blinde; cz, Jan Lucemburský; 10 August 1296 – 26 August 1346), was the Count of Luxembourg from 1313 and King of Bohemia from 1310 and titular King of ...

, but

Mastino II della Scala Mastino II della Scala (1308 – 3 June 1351) was lord of Verona. He was a member of the famous Scaliger family of Northern Italy. He was the son of Alboino I della Scala and Beatrice da Correggio. At the death of Cangrande I, he and his brother ...

expelled the governor appointed by him. His mastery was soon contested by the Visconti of Milan, but not even their rule was undisputed, as

Pandolfo III Malatesta Pandolfo III Malatesta (c. 1369 – October 3, 1427) was an Italian condottiero and lord of Fano, a member of the famous House of Malatesta. Biography He was the second son of Galeotto I Malatesta. After the latter's death, the Malatesta lan ...

took possession of the city in 1406. However, in 1416 he bartered it to

Filippo Maria Visconti Filippo Maria Visconti (3 September 1392 – 13 August 1447)

duke of Milan, who in 1426 sold it to the Venetians. The Milanese nobles forced Filippo to resume hostilities against the Venetians, and thus to attempt the recovery of Brescia, but he was defeated in the Battle of Maclodio (1427), near Brescia, by general Carmagnola, commander of the Venetian mercenary army. In 1439, Brescia was once more besieged by Francesco Sforza, captain of the Venetians, who defeated

Niccolò Piccinino Niccolò Piccinino (1386 – 15 October 1444) was an Italian condottiero. Biography He was born in Perugia, the son of a butcher. Piccinino was introduced in the guild of Perugia's butchers. He was later scornfully called "son of a butcher" by ...

, Filippo's

condottiero ''Condottieri'' (; singular ''condottiero'' or ''condottiere'') were Italian captains in command of mercenary companies during the Middle Ages and of multinational armies during the early modern period. They notably served popes and other Europe ...

. Thenceforward Brescia and the province were a Venetian possession, only disrupted by the French conquest in 1512.

Early Modern era

Brescia has had a major role in the

history of the violin The violin, viola and cello were first built in the early 16th century, in Italy. The earliest evidence for their existence is in paintings by Gaudenzio Ferrari from the 1530s, though Ferrari's instruments had only three strings. The ''Académie ...

. Many archive documents very clearly testify that from 1490 to 1640 Brescia was the cradle of a magnificent school of string players and makers, all styled "maestro", of all the different kinds of stringed instruments of the Renaissance: viola da gamba (viols), violone, lyra, lyrone, violetta and viola da brazzo. So you can find from 1495 "maestro delle viole" or "maestro delle lire" and later, at least from 1558, "maestro di far violini" that is master of violin making. From 1530 the word violin appeared in Brescian documents and spread in later decades throughout north of Italy, reaching Venezia and Cremona. Early in the 16th century Brescia was one of the wealthiest cities of Lombardy, but it never recovered from its sack by the French in 1512. Broletto cortile e cupola duomo nuovo Brescia

Broletto cortile e cupola duomo nuovo Brescia

The "Sack of Brescia" took place on 18 February 1512, during the War of the League of Cambrai. The city of Brescia had revolted against French control, garrisoning itself with

Venetian Venetian often means from or related to: * Venice, a city in Italy * Veneto, a region of Italy * Republic of Venice (697–1797), a historical nation in that area Venetian and the like may also refer to: * Venetian language, a Romance language s ...

troops. Gaston de Foix, recently arrived to command the French armies in Italy, ordered the city to surrender; when it refused, he attacked it with around 12,000 men. The French attack took place in a pouring rain, through a field of mud; Foix ordered his men to remove their shoes for better traction. The defenders inflicted heavy casualties on the French, but were eventually overrun, suffering 8,000 – 15,000 casualties. The Gascon infantry and landsknechts then proceeded to thoroughly sack the city, massacring thousands of civilians over the next five days. Following this, the city of

paid some 60,000

ducat The ducat () coin was used as a trade coin in Europe from the later Middle Ages from the 13th to 19th centuries. Its most familiar version, the gold ducat or sequin containing around of 98.6% fine gold, originated in Venice in 1284 and gained wi ...

s to the French to avoid a similar fate. The French occupied Brescia until 1520, when Venetian rule resumed. Thereafter, Brescia shared the fortunes of the Venetian republic until the latter fell at the hands of French general

Napoleon Bonaparte Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

. In 1769, in the

Brescia explosion The Brescia explosion occurred in 1769 in Brescia (now part of Italy) when a large store of gunpowder exploded after a lightning strike, causing extensive destruction and many deaths. Claims that as many as 6,000 people died in the explosion (whic ...

, the city was devastated when the Bastion of San Nazaro was struck by lightning. The resulting fire ignited of gunpowder stored there, causing a massive explosion which destroyed one-sixth of the Brescia and killed 3,000 people.

19th century and later

In the Napoleonic era, Brescia was part of the various

revolutionary republics A revolutionary republic is a form of government whose main tenets are popular sovereignty, rule of law, and representative democracy. It is based in part on the ideas of Whig and Enlightenment thinkers, and was favored by revolutionaries dur ...

and then of the

Napoleonic Kingdom of Italy The Kingdom of Italy (1805–1814; it, Regno d'Italia; french: Royaume d'Italie) was a kingdom in Northern Italy (formerly the Italian Republic) in personal union with Napoleon I's French Empire. It was fully influenced by revolutionary Franc ...

after Napoleon became Emperor of the French. After the end of the Napoleonic era in 1815, Brescia was annexed to the Austrian puppet state known as the Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia. Brescia revolted in

1848 1848 is historically famous for the wave of revolutions, a series of widespread struggles for more liberal governments, which broke out from Brazil to Hungary; although most failed in their immediate aims, they significantly altered the polit ...

; then again in March 1849, when the Piedmontese army invaded Austrian-controlled Lombardy, the people in Brescia overthrew the hated local Austrian administration, and the Austrian military contingent, led by general Haynau, retreated to the Castle (). When the larger military operations turned against the Piedmontese, forcing them to retreat, Brescia was left to its own resources. Still, the citizens managed to resist recapture by the Austrian army for ten days of bloody and obstinate street fighting that are now celebrated as the

Ten Days of Brescia The Ten Days of Brescia ( it, Dieci giornate di Brescia) was a revolt which broke out in the northern Italian city of that name, which lasted from 23 March to 1 April 1849. In the early 19th century Brescia was subject of the Austrian empire, as ...

. This prompted poet Giosuè Carducci to nickname Brescia "Leonessa d'Italia" ("Italian Lioness"), since it was the only Lombard town to rally to King Charles Albert of Piedmont (and to the cause of

Italian unification The unification of Italy ( it, Unità d'Italia ), also known as the ''Risorgimento'' (, ; ), was the 19th-century political and social movement that resulted in the consolidation of different states of the Italian Peninsula into a single ...

) in that year. In 1859, the city was conquered by the Italian troops and Brescia was included in the newly founded Kingdom of Italy. The city was awarded a gold medal for its resistance against Fascism in World War II. On 28 May 1974, it was the seat of the bloody

Piazza della Loggia bombing The Piazza della Loggia bombing was a bombing that took place on the morning of 28 May 1974, in Brescia, Italy during an anti-fascist protest. The terrorist attack killed eight people and wounded 102. The bomb was placed inside a rubbish bin at ...

Geography

Topography

Brescia is located in the north-western section of the

Po Valley The Po Valley, Po Plain, Plain of the Po, or Padan Plain ( it, Pianura Padana , or ''Val Padana'') is a major geographical feature of Northern Italy. It extends approximately in an east-west direction, with an area of including its Venetic ex ...

, at the foot of the Brescian Prealps, between the Mella and the Naviglio, with the Lake Iseo to the west and the Lake Garda to the east (but it has also other important lakes like Idro and Moro). The southern area of the city is flat, while towards the north the territory becomes hilly. The city's lowest point is above sea level, the highest point is

Monte Maddalena Monte Maddalena is a mountain of Lombardy, Italy, It has an elevation of 874 metres. Gallery File:StradaAnticaMantovanaBrescia.JPG, Mountains of the Alps Mountains of Lombardy {{Lombardy-geo-stub ...

at , while the centre of the town is . The administrative comune covers a total area of . Modern Brescia has a central area focused on residential and tertiary activities. Around the city proper, lies a vast urban agglomeration with over 600,000 inhabitants that expands mainly to the north, to the west and to the east, engulfing many communes in a continuous urban landscape.

Climate

According to the Köppen climate classification, Brescia has a mid-latitude

humid subtropical climate A humid subtropical climate is a zone of climate characterized by hot and humid summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between latitudes 25° and 40° ...

(''Cfa''). Its average annual temperature is : during the day and at night. The warmest months are June, July, and August, with high temperatures from to . The coldest are December, January, and February, with low temperatures from to . Winter is moderately cold, but not harsh, with some snow, mainly occurs from December through February, but snow cover does not usually remain for long. Summer can be sultry, when humidity levels are high and peak temperatures can reach . Spring and autumn are generally pleasant, with temperatures ranging between and . The relative humidity is high throughout the year, especially in winter when it causes fog, mainly from dusk until late morning, although the phenomenon has become increasingly less frequent in recent years. Precipitation is spread evenly throughout the year. The driest month is December, with precipitation of 54.6 mm (2.1 in), while the wettest month is May, with 104.9 mm (4.1 in) of rain.

Demographics

In 2015, there were 196,480 people residing in Brescia, of whom 47.1% were male and 52.9% were female. Minors (children aged 0–17) totalled 16% of the population compared to pensioners who number 24.6%. This compares with the Italian average of 16.5% (minors) and 22% (pensioners). In the four years between 2011 and 2015, the population of Brescia grew by 3.9%, while Italy as a whole grew by 2.1%. The current birth rate of Brescia is 7.9 births per 1,000 inhabitants compared to the Italian average of 8 births. Brescia is one of the most cosmopolitan and multicultural cities in Italy. In 2018, the foreign-born residents represented 12% of the total population. The largest immigrant group comes from other European nations (mostly Romania, Ukraine, Moldova and Albania), the others from South Asia (mostly India and Pakistan) and North Africa. The city is predominantly Roman Catholic, but due to immigration now has some

Orthodox Christian Orthodoxy (from Greek: ) is adherence to correct or accepted creeds, especially in religion. Orthodoxy within Christianity refers to acceptance of the doctrines defined by various creeds and ecumenical councils in Antiquity, but different Churche ...

Sikh Sikhs ( or ; pa, ਸਿੱਖ, ' ) are people who adhere to Sikhism, Sikhism (Sikhi), a Monotheism, monotheistic religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Gu ...

and

Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

followers. In 2006 there were about 1,000 people of Pakistani origins living in Brescia.

Government

Brescia - Palazzo della Loggia (48743449898)

Since local government political reorganization in 1993, Brescia has been governed by the City Council of Brescia, which is based in ''Palazzo della Loggia''. Voters elect directly 32 councilors and the Mayor of Brescia every five years. Brescia was generally considered in the past one of the most important political bellwether in Italy. Historical stronghold of DC party, in 1994 it was the city in which was firstly experimented the newborn political center-left coalition formed by members of former

PCI PCI may refer to: Business and economics * Payment card industry, businesses associated with debit, credit, and other payment cards ** Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard, a set of security requirements for credit card processors * Pro ...

and DC parties against Silvio Berlusconi's center-right coalition: that year the last secretary of DC and former minister,

Mino Martinazzoli Fermo "Mino" Martinazzoli (; 3 November 1931 – 4 September 2011) was an Italian lawyer, politician and former minister. He was the last secretary of the Christian Democracy party and the first secretary of the Italian People's Party founded ...

, run as mayor with the support of the leftist

PDS PD, P.D., or Pd may refer to: Arts and media * ''People's Democracy'' (newspaper), weekly organ of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) * ''The Plain Dealer'', a Cleveland, Ohio, US newspaper * Post Diaspora, a time frame in the '' Honorverse' ...

and won the election defeating the

Forza Italia Forza ItaliaThe name is not usually translated into English: ''forza'' is the second-person singular imperative of ''forzare'', in this case translating to "to compel" or "to press", and so means something like "Forward, Italy", "Come on, Ital ...

Lega Nord Lega Nord (; acronym: LN), whose complete name is (), is a right-wing, federalist, populist and conservative political party in Italy. In the run-up of the 2018 general election, the party was rebranded as (), without changing its official n ...

bloc candidate, endorsed by Berlusconi. This experience is considered even today one of the bases of Romano Prodi's The Olive Tree political coalition. Since then to 2008 the center-left coalition held the largest number of seats with a partnership administration based on the alliance between the major left-wing, green and independents parties. Anyway, in the 2008 local elections the center-right coalition formed by Silvio Berlusconi's

People of Freedom The People of Freedom ( it, Il Popolo della Libertà, PdL) was a centre-right political party in Italy. The PdL, launched by Silvio Berlusconi on 18 November 2007, was initially a federation of political parties, notably including Forza Italia a ...

party and the regionalist

won for the first time the majority in the City Council. These elections occurred the same day Berlusconi's coalition achieved an outright majority across the country. However, in the 2013 elections the

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

achieved an outright majority across the city and the center-left coalition became again the major force in the City Council. In the 2018 local elections the center-left coalition obtained even the 54% of the votes on the first round and the

, which obtained nearly the 35% of the votes, gained 15 seats out of 32 in the City Council. The current Mayor of Brescia is Emilio Del Bono ( PD), elected on 10 June 2013, and re-elected for a second term on 10 June 2018. Brescia is also the capital of its own province. The Provincial Council is seated in ''Palazzo Broletto''.

Subdivision

The city of Brescia is divided in 5 boroughs called ''zone''. Each ''zona'' is subdivided into a different number of ''quartieri''. Here is a list of Brescia's ''zone'' and ''quartieri'':

Main sights

The old town of Brescia (characterized, in the north-east, by a rectangular plan, with the streets that intersect at right angles, a peculiarity handed down from Roman times) has a significant artistic and archaeological heritage, consisting of various monuments ranging from the ancient age to contemporary.

UNESCO World Heritage monuments

In 2011, UNESCO inscribed the monumental area with the monastic complex of San Salvatore-Santa Giulia in the World Heritage List, belonging to the group known as "

Longobards in Italy, Places of Power (568-774 A.D.) The Lombards () or Langobards ( la, Langobardi) were a Germanic people who ruled most of the Italian Peninsula from 568 to 774. The medieval Lombard historian Paul the Deacon wrote in the ''History of the Lombards'' (written between 787 and ...

Monumental area of the Roman forum

This is the archaeological complex where there are the best-preserved Roman public buildings in the

northern Italy Northern Italy ( it, Italia settentrionale, it, Nord Italia, label=none, it, Alta Italia, label=none or just it, Nord, label=none) is a geographical and cultural region in the northern part of Italy. It consists of eight administrative regions ...

, composed of: *''Republican sanctuary'' :It is under the Capitoline temple. It has been built in the 1st century BC and it is the oldest structure of the

forum Forum or The Forum (plural forums or fora) may refer to: Common uses * Forum (legal), designated space for public expression in the United States *Forum (Roman), open public space within a Roman city **Roman Forum, most famous example *Internet ...

. It consists of four rectangular rooms next to each other and inside then there are the remains of the original mosaic floors and the wall frescoes, which from a stylistic point of view and state of preservation are comparable to those of

Pompeii Pompeii (, ) was an ancient city located in what is now the ''comune'' of Pompei near Naples in the Campania region of Italy. Pompeii, along with Herculaneum and many villas in the surrounding area (e.g. at Boscoreale, Stabiae), was buried ...

. Since the spring of 2015, the western room has opened to the public, while the rest of the building is still undergoing archaeological excavation and restoration. *'' Capitolium of Brixia'' :The primary temple in the city, it was dedicated to the cult of the Capitoline Triad. It was built in 73 AD and consists of three '' cellae'' that have preserved much of the original polychrome marble floors, while their interior walls are now a

lapidarium A lapidarium is a place where stone (Latin: ) monuments and fragments of archaeological interest are exhibited. They can include stone epigraphy, epigraphs; statues; architectural elements such as columns, cornices, and acroterions; bas reliefs ...

displaying ancient Roman epigraphs collected in the 19th century. In front of the cellae, is a fragmentary

portico A portico is a porch leading to the entrance of a building, or extended as a colonnade, with a roof structure over a walkway, supported by columns or enclosed by walls. This idea was widely used in ancient Greece and has influenced many cult ...

, composed of Corinthian columns that support a pediment containing a dedication to the Emperor Vespasian. Almost entirely buried by a landslide of the Cidneo Hill, it was rediscovered in 1823 through various archaeological campaigns. During excavation in 1826, a splendid bronze statue of a

winged Victory The ''Winged Victory of Samothrace'', or the ''Nike of Samothrace'', is a votive monument originally found on the island of Samothrace, north of the Aegean Sea. It is a masterpiece of Greek sculpture from the Hellenistic era, dating from the beg ...

was found inside it, likely hidden in late antiquity to preserve it from pillage. After restoration completed in 2013, the site reopened as a new archaeological park. *''Roman theatre'' :It is located immediately at east of the Capitolium. It has been built in the Flavian era and altered in the 3rd century. With its 86 meters diameter, is one of the largest

Roman theatres Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...

in northern Italy and originally it housed around 15,000 spectators. In the 5th century, an earthquake has heavily damaged the building. In addition, in later centuries, its remains were incorporated into new buildings built on top of it, largely demolished starting from the 19th century. Of the original structure are preserved the semicircular perimeter walls, the two side passages (''aditus'') and the remains of the ''

proscenium A proscenium ( grc-gre, προσκήνιον, ) is the metaphorical vertical plane of space in a theatre, usually surrounded on the top and sides by a physical proscenium arch (whether or not truly "arched") and on the bottom by the stage floor ...

'', as well as many fragments of columns and friezes of the '' scaenae frons''. The most of the ''orchestra'' and the ''ima cavea'' are still below ground. The archaeological excavations should resume in the coming years. Near the Capitolium is located the ''Palazzo Maggi Gambara'', an aristocratic palace built in the 16th century on top of the west ruins of the Roman theatre.

Monastic complex of San Salvatore-Santa Giulia

Museo di Santa Giulia Domus dell'Ortaglia Brescia

The monastic complex of San Salvatore-Santa Giulia is an outstanding architectural palimpsest, today transformed into the ''Museo di Santa Giulia'', which contains about 11,000 works of art and archaeological finds. During the period of Longobard domination, Princess

Anselperga Anselperga (fl. 772), was an Italian abbess. She was the eldest daughter of Desiderius, King of the Lombards, and Ansa. She was the second Abbess of San Salvatore e Santa Giulia, which her parents had formed in Brescia from the union of San Michel ...

, daughter of King Desiderius, headed the monastery. It consists of: *''Basilica of San Salvatore'' :It has been built in 753 by Duke of Brescia Desiderius, future Lombard king, and his wife Ansa. It is characterized by the simultaneous use of the Longobards stylistic elements and decorative motifs of classical and Byzantine art and it is one of the most important examples of High Middle Ages architecture in Italy. The basilica has a nave with two apses and has a transept with three apses. It is located over a pre-existing church, which had a single nave and three apses. Expanded in the following centuries, it houses various works of art, including the ''Stories of St. Obizio'' painted by Romanino and ''Stories of the Virgin and the infancy of Christ'' by Paolo Caylina il Giovane, as well as others from the Carolingian age. *''Church of Santa Maria in Solario'' :It has been built in the mid-12th century as a chapel inside the monastery. It has a square base with an octagonal lantern and has two internal levels. Four vaults, supported in the centre by an ancient Roman altar, covers the lower floor, while a hemispherical dome covers the upper chamber, that has, into the east wall, three small apses. Inside there are frescoes by

Floriano Ferramola Floriano or Fioravante Ferramola (c. 1478 – 3 July 1528) was an Italian painter of the Renaissance period, active mainly in Brescia. Biography Mentioned for the first time in 1503, his first known work is a ''Nativity'' from 1507 to 1508, now i ...

and two of the most important pieces of the treasure of the ancient monastery: the

Brescia Casket The Brescia Casket or Lipsanotheca (in Italian ''Lipsanoteca'') is an ivory box, perhaps a reliquary, from the late 4th century, which is now in the Museo di Santa Giulia at San Salvatore in Brescia, Italy. It is a virtually unique survival of ...

(that consists of a small ivory box dating the 4th century) and the Cross of Desiderius (made of silver and gold plate, studded with 212 precious gems). *''The nuns' choir'' :It is placed between the Basilica of San Salvatore and the church of Santa Giulia. It has been built between the late 15th and early 16th century and it is on two levels. The lower level is the old churchyard covered for access to the basilica. The upper floor is the real choir, made up by a room covered by a barrel vault, which is connected to the east with San Salvatore by three small windows with a grating, on the west by Santa Giulia through an arch. The interior of the choir is entirely decorated with frescoes painted by Ferramola and Caylina, and inside are shown different funerary monuments of the Venetian age, including the ''Martinengo Mausoleum'', a masterpiece of the Renaissance sculpture in Lombardy. *''Church of Santa Giulia'' :It has been built between 1593 and 1599. The façade, made of Botticino marble, is decorated with a double row of pilasters of the Corinthian order, separated by a rich marble frieze and connected to the sides by volutes. The inside consists of a spacious nave covered with a barrel vault. In the church, there are no sacred furniture and there are only a few scraps of the frescoes that originally decorated each surface. Although annexed to the monastery, it is not part of the ''Museo di Santa Giulia'' and is used as a conference room. In the former vegetable garden of this monastery have been discovered a group of Roman

domus In Ancient Rome, the ''domus'' (plural ''domūs'', genitive ''domūs'' or ''domī'') was the type of town house occupied by the upper classes and some wealthy freedmen during the Republican and Imperial eras. It was found in almost all the ma ...

called ''Domus dell'Ortaglia'' that were used between the 1st and 4th centuries and they are some of the best preserved domus in northern Italy.

Other sights

Chiesa di San Faustino a Brescia facciata

Cimitero Vantiniano monumento Giovanni Battista Bossini a Brescia

Piazzale Arnaldo e Mercato dei grani da est a Brescia

*Piazza della Loggia, example of Renaissance ''piazza'', with the eponymous ''Palazzo della Loggia'' (current Town Hall), construction began in 1492 under the direction of Filippo de' Grassi and completed only in the 16th century by Sansovino and

Palladio Andrea Palladio ( ; ; 30 November 1508 – 19 August 1580) was an Italian Renaissance architect active in the Venetian Republic. Palladio, influenced by Roman and Greek architecture, primarily Vitruvius, is widely considered to be one of th ...

. Vanvitelli designed the upper room of the palace (1769). On the south side of the square are two 15th–16th century ''

Monti di Pietà A mount of piety is an institutional pawnbroker run as a charity in Europe from Renaissance times until today. Similar institutions were established in the colonies of Catholic countries; the Mexican Nacional Monte de Piedad is still in operation ...

'' (Christian lending houses). Their façades are embedded with ancient Roman tombstones, one of oldest antique lapidary displays in Italy. At the centre of the east side of the square stands the '' Torre dell'Orologio'', a tower with a large astronomical clock (mid-16th-century) on top of which there are two copper anthropomorphic automata which strike the hours on a bell. On May 28, 1974, the square was targeted by the terrorist bombing. * Duomo Vecchio: the ''Old Cathedral'' also known as ''La Rotonda'' is circular 11th-century Romanesque church. The main structure, with rustic exteriors, was built atop ruins of an earlier basilica. Near the entrance is the pink marble sarcophagus of Berardo Maggi, while in the presbytery is the entrance to the crypt of San Filastrio. The structure houses masterworks by Alessandro Bonvicino (''il Moretto'');

Girolamo Romanino Girolamo Romani, known as Romanino (c. 1485 - c. 1566), was an Italian High Renaissance painter active in the Veneto and Lombardy, near Brescia. His long career brought forth several different styles. Biography Romani was born in Brescia. H ...

Palma il Giovane Iacopo Negretti (1548/50 – 14 October 1628), best known as Jacopo or Giacomo Palma il Giovane or simply Palma Giovane ("Young Palma"), was an Italian painter from Venice and a notable exponent of the Venetian school. After Tintoretto's death ...

Francesco Maffei Francesco Maffei (1605 – 2 July 1660) was an Italian painter, active in the Baroque style. Biography He probably trained in his birthplace of Vicenza with his father, and painted mostly in the towns of the Veneto (Venetian mainland). He di ...

, and others. * Duomo Nuovo: construction of the ''New Cathedral'' began in 1604 and only completed in 1825. Initially designed by Palladio, economic shortfalls led to a younger local architects and artists completing initial work, including decorations by

Pietro Maria Bagnadore Piermaria Bagnadore (c. 1550–1627), also called Pietro Maria Bagnatori, was an Italian painter, sculptor, and architect of the late-Renaissance period. Biography Born in Orzinuovi, he trained with il Moretto da Brescia, and painted mainly in ...

. The interior has major frescoes by

Il Moretto Alessandro Bonvicino (also Buonvicino) (possibly 22 December 1554), more commonly known as Moretto, or in Italian Il Moretto da Brescia (the Moor of Brescia), was an Italian Renaissance painter from Brescia, where he also mostly worked. His ...

. The high altarpiece is by

Giacomo Zoboli Giacomo is an Italian name. It is the Italian version of the Hebrew name Jacob. People * Giacomo (name), including a list of people with the name Other uses * Giacomo (horse), a race horse, winner of the 2005 Kentucky Derby * ''Giácomo'' (film) ...

(1735). The main attraction is the ''Ark of Sts Apollonius and Filastrius'' (1510). * Broletto: the 12th- and 13th-century Town Hall, now houses offices of both the commune and province. On the Piazza front is the balcony from where the medieval city officials spoke to the townsfolk; on the north side, rises a tall tower called "Tower of Pégol" or "Tower of the People" (the Lombard: ''Tòr del Pégol''), whose bells were once used to summon the citizens in moments of distress. *Piazza della Vittoria, an example of Italian

Art Déco Art Deco, short for the French ''Arts Décoratifs'', and sometimes just called Deco, is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design, that first appeared in France in the 1910s (just before World War I), and flourished in the Unite ...

architecture. It was built between 1927 and 1932 by architect Marcello Piacentini through the demolition of part of the medieval old town and it has an L-shape. On the inside corner right there is the

Torrione INA The Torrione INA (), also known as Torrione or Grattacielo, is a tall building in Brescia, Italy. Built between 1930 and 1932, it is the first skyscraper in Italy and also one of the first skyscrapers in Europe. It was designed by the Italian ar ...

, the first skyscraper built in Italy. In the north background there is the large ''Palazzo delle poste'' ("Post Office building"), with its ocher-white two-tone upholstery. The ''Torre della Rivoluzione'' ("Tower of the Revolution") and three other buildings, recalling the classical architecture, complete the square. *Piazza del Foro: site of the Roman forum. In addition to the already mentioned ''Capitolium'', ''republican sanctuary'' and ''Roman theatre'', various other remains are visible in the area. Among these, on the south side of the square, are scanty remains of a building called the ''curia'', which may have been a basilica. *Palazzo Martinengo Cesaresco Novarino: mid-17th-century palace, now home to art exhibitions and an underground archaeological exhibit, depicting city's history from the early Iron Age to the present day, concentrating in a single place 3,000 years of urban history of Brescia. * Santa Maria dei Miracoli: (1488–1523) church with fine façade by Giovanni Antonio Amadeo, decorated with bas-reliefs and a Renaissance ''

peristilium In ancient Greek and Roman architecture, a peristyle (; from Greek ) is a continuous porch formed by a row of columns surrounding the perimeter of a building or a courtyard. Tetrastoön ( grc, τετράστῳον or τετράστοον, lit=fou ...

''. It is considered a jewel of Renaissance sculpture in Lombardy. * San Francesco: Romanesque-Gothic church and cloisters. *Castle of Brescia: also known as ''Falcone d'Italia'' ("falcon of Italy"), locate atop Cidneo Hill at the northeast angle of the town. Built between the 13th and the 16th century and among the largest castles in Italy. Besides commanding a fine view of the city and a large part of the surrounding area, and being a local favorite recreational area, it hosts the Arms Museum, with a fine collection of weapons from the Middle Ages onwards; the Risorgimento Museum, dedicated to the Italian independence wars of the 19th century; an exhibition of model railroads; and an astronomical observatory. * Santi Nazaro e Celso: church housing the

Averoldi Polyptych The ''Averoldi Polyptych'', also known as the ''Averoldi Altarpiece'', is a painting by the Italian Renaissance painter Titian, dating to 1520–1522, in the basilica church of Santi Nazaro e Celso in Brescia, northern Italy. It is signed "Tic ...

by Titian. * San Faustino e Giovita: church also known as ''San Faustino Maggiore''. The interior has a fresco depicting ''Apotheosis of Sts Faustino, Jovita, Benedict and Scholastica'' by

Giandomenico Tiepolo Giovanni Domenico Tiepolo (August 30, 1727March 3, 1804) was an Italian painter and printmaker in etching. He was the son of artist Giovanni Battista Tiepolo and elder brother of Lorenzo Baldissera Tiepolo. Life history Domenico was born in ...

. * Basilica of Santa Maria delle Grazie: basilica church built between the 16th and 17th centuries with Baroque frescoes and stucco, and a work of Il Moretto. * San Giuseppe: 16th-century church houses frescoes and decoration including fourteen ''Stations of the Cross of St. Joseph'' (1713) by Giovanni Antonio Capello. The church houses the tombs of

Gasparo da Salò Gasparo da Salò (20 May 154214 April 1609) is the name given to Gasparo Bertolotti, one of the earliest violin makers and an expert double bass player. Around 80 of his instruments are known to have survived to the present day: violins (small ...

, one of the inventors of the modern violin and Benedetto Marcello, Baroque musician. Inside it, there is one of the oldest organs in the world. * San Clemente: church with paintings by Bonvicino. * Torre della Pallata: massive tower built in 1254 as part of the medieval walls. In the 15th century, the clock, merlons, and turret added. The fountain on the western side was designed in 1597 by Bagnadore. *San Giovanni: church with a refectory painted jointly by il Moretto and il Romanino. * San Marco Evangelista: a small 13th-century Romanesque-style church. *

San Mattia alle Grazie San Mattia alle Grazie or San Mattia was a church dedicated to Saint Matthias on via delle Grazie in Brescia Brescia (, locally ; lmo, link=no, label= Lombard, Brèsa ; lat, Brixia; vec, Bressa) is a city and ''comune'' in the region of Lomb ...

: a suppressed 13th-century former church. *

Monumental Cemetery A cemetery, burial ground, gravesite or graveyard is a place where the remains of dead people are buried or otherwise interred. The word ''cemetery'' (from Greek , "sleeping place") implies that the land is specifically designated as a buri ...

: also known as ''Vantiniano'', is the largest cemetery in Brescia, designed around 1813 by

Rodolfo Vantini Rodolfo Vantini (1792 – 1856) was an Italian architect. He is remembered for his Neoclassical contributions to architecture in his native city of Brescia and in the surrounding regions of northern Italy. His masterpiece is the design of Milan ...

. It is the first monumental cemetery built in Italy and at its centre stands the ''Lighthouse of Brescia'' (60 meters tall) which has inspired the architect Heinrich Strack for the design of the Berlin Victory Column. *

Teatro Grande The Teatro Grande is the main performance venue for the city of Brescia, Italy. The venue hosts performances of operas, musicals, plays, concerts, ballet, modern dance Modern dance is a broad genre of western concert or theatrical dance whic ...

: opera house renovated several times between the mid-17th and mid-19th century. The name ''Grande'' ("Big") is derived from the former name ''Il Grande'' ("The Great") in honour of

. The horseshoe-shaped auditorium is richly decorated and has five galleries. Since 1912, the theatre is a

national monument A national monument is a monument constructed in order to commemorate something of importance to national heritage, such as a country's founding, independence, war, or the life and death of a historical figure. The term may also refer to a spec ...

. *Biblioteca Queriniana, containing rare early manuscripts, including the Codex Brixianus, a 14th-century manuscript of Dante, and some rare

incunabula In the history of printing, an incunable or incunabulum (plural incunables or incunabula, respectively), is a book, pamphlet, or broadside that was printed in the earliest stages of printing in Europe, up to the year 1500. Incunabula were pro ...

. The city has no fewer than seventy-two public fountains. The stone quarries of

Botticino Botticino (Brescian: ) is a town and ''comune'' (commune or municipality) in the province of Brescia, in Lombardy, Italy. The ''comune'' was created in 1928 by the union of the former ''comuni'' of Botticino Mattina and Botticino Sera which today, ...

, east of Brescia, supplied marble for the Monument to Vittorio Emanuele II in Rome.

Museums

Raffaello Angelo 1 (frammento pala Baronci)

The most important museums of Brescia are the following: * Museo di Santa Giulia ("Santa Giulia Museum"): it is the city Museum, situated in the monastic complex of San Salvatore-Santa Giulia, which has a rich Roman section. One of the masterpieces is the bronze statue of a winged Victory, originally probably a Venus, converted in antiquity into the Victory by adding the wings; it is said to be in the act of writing the winner's name on her shield (now lost). Also very interesting, one of the very few places in the world where the remains of two Roman domus can be visited on their original site simply by strolling into one of the museum halls. *

Pinacoteca Tosio Martinengo The Pinacoteca Tosio Martinengo is a public art museum in Brescia, Lombardy. Established in 1851, the museum exhibits mainly paintings by local artists dated from the Thirteenth through the Eighteenth century. The museum's current collection in ...

, the municipal art gallery; it hosts works of the painters of the Renaissance Brescian school,

, Alessandro Bonvicino and Giovanni Battista Moroni. After an extensive remodeling the museum reopened in 2018 with a refreshed interior showcasing the art hung on contemporary fabric covered walls. * Museo della Mille Miglia ("Mille Miglia Museum"). Situated inside the former Monastery of S. Eufemia, the museum celebrates the history of the 1,000-mile car race from Brescia to Rome and back that began in 1927. It shows films, memorabilia, dresses, posters, and a number of classic cars that are periodically replaced by other in case of participation in events. * Museo Diocesano di Brescia ( "Diocesan Museum of Brescia"). It is located in the former Monastery of St. Joseph and houses a permanent collection of sacred artworks, including paintings,

illuminated manuscript An illuminated manuscript is a formally prepared document where the text is often supplemented with flourishes such as borders and miniature illustrations. Often used in the Roman Catholic Church for prayers, liturgical services and psalms, the ...

s, as well as one of the most extensive collections of vestments in Italy. * Museo Nazionale della fotografia ("National Museum of Photography"). It hosts a collection of photographic and cinematographic machines, along with various camera accessories and a photo library with about 60,000 photographs. * Museo delle Armi "Luigi Marzoli" (""Luigi Marzoli" Arms Museum"). Located in the Castle, it is one of the most important European collections of old armour and weaponry. It hosts about 600 pieces of armour, weapons and firearms from the 15th to the 19th century. * Museo degli strumenti musicali e della liuteria bresciana ("Museum of the Musical Instruments and Brescian lutherie"). It hosts string and wind instruments, as well as a rich collection of

choirbook A choirbook is a large format manuscript used by choirs in churches or cathedrals during the Middle Ages and Renaissance. The book is large enough for the entire choir to read from one book. Choirbooks were generally put on a stand with the smaller ...

s and musical scores. * Collezione Paolo VI – arte contemporanea ("Paul VI Collection – Contemporary Art"). It is located in Concesio, on the northern outskirts of Brescia, and hosts the contemporary art collection of Pope Paul VI, composed of about 7,000 works of many famous artists, including

Matisse Henri Émile Benoît Matisse (; 31 December 1869 – 3 November 1954) was a French visual artist, known for both his use of colour and his fluid and original draughtsmanship. He was a draughtsman, printmaker, and sculptor, but is known prima ...

Chagall Marc Chagall; russian: link=no, Марк Заха́рович Шага́л ; be, Марк Захаравіч Шагал . (born Moishe Shagal; 28 March 1985) was a Russian-French artist. An early modernism, modernist, he was associated with se ...

Picasso Pablo Ruiz Picasso (25 October 1881 – 8 April 1973) was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist and Scenic design, theatre designer who spent most of his adult life in France. One of the most influential artists of the 20th ce ...

, Dalí and others. It was opened on November 8, 2009, inaugurated by Pope Benedict XVI. Besides these, there are other museums in Brescia: * Museo del Risorgimento ("Risorgimento Museum") * Ma.Co.f. – Centro della fotografia italiana ("Centre of Italian photography") * Museo del Ferro - Museo dell'Industria e del Lavoro ("Museum of Industry and Labour") * The Beatles Museum * Museo Ken Damy della Fotografia contemporanea * AmbienteParco - Museo dell'Acqua ("Water Museum") * Museo di Scienze Naturali ("Natural Science Museum") * Museo Piamarta - Istituto Artigianeli * Casa Museo Paolo VI di Concesio

Parks

Due to its location in the foothills of the Alps, Brescia has forests close to the city centre. About 80% of its municipal territory is covered by woodlands and farmlands: total amount of public green space is , or per inhabitant, while agricultural zones cover an area of . The largest park of Brescia is ''Parco delle Colline di Brescia'' ("Brescia Hills Park") that has a total surface of , of which fall within the city limits. The park was established in 2000 with the purpose of preserving, safeguarding, and enhancing the natural heritage of the hills surrounding Brescia. Woods cover about 70% of the surface of the park; the rest consists of meadows, vineyard and olive plantations. The most common plants in the park are hop-hornbeam,

downy oak ''Quercus pubescens'', the downy oak or pubescent oak, is a species of white oak (genus ''Quercus'' sect. ''Quercus'') native to southern Europe and southwest Asia, from northern Spain (Pyrenees) east to the Crimea and the Caucasus. It is also fou ...

, sweet chestnut, manna ash, but there is also the presence of Mediterranean species such as

terebinth ''Pistacia terebinthus'' also called the terebinth and the turpentine tree, is a deciduous tree species of the genus ''Pistacia'', native to the Mediterranean region from the western regions of Morocco and Portugal to Greece and western and s ...

, tree heath, bay laurel and

holm oak Holm oak may refer to: * '' Quercus ilex'', tree native to South and Southeast Europe and parts of France * '' Quercus rotundifolia'', tree native to the Iberian Peninsula and Northwest Africa * ''Quercus agrifolia ''Quercus agrifolia'', the Cal ...

. The fauna of the park includes foxes, European badgers, wild boars and other mammals, while the most common birds are

robin Robin may refer to: Animals * Australasian robins, red-breasted songbirds of the family Petroicidae * Many members of the subfamily Saxicolinae (Old World chats), including: **European robin (''Erithacus rubecula'') **Bush-robin **Forest rob ...

s, blackbirds, blackcaps and

wren Wrens are a family of brown passerine birds in the predominantly New World family Troglodytidae. The family includes 88 species divided into 19 genera. Only the Eurasian wren occurs in the Old World, where, in Anglophone regions, it is commonly ...

s. In 2018 another public park known as ''Parco delle Cave'' was opened on the site of former sand quarries in the south of the city. After the full opening at the end of 2021, now the park covers a surface of 2 square kilometers. Other parks are scattered throughout the city, such as ''Parco del Castello'' ("Castle Park"), ''Parco Tarello'', ''Parco Mazzolari'', ''Parco Ducos'' and ''Campo di Marte''.

Education

Santa Chiara - Facoltà di Economia - Brescia (Foto Luca Giarelli)

As 2019, in Brescia there are 51 primary schools, of which 42 public and 9 private. There are also 29 lower secondary schools, of which 21 public and 8 private. Referring to upper secondary schools, in Brescia there are 53 schools, of which 20 are private and 33 are public. Amongst them there are 3 classic lyceums and 13 scientific lyceums. Brescia has two universities: *

University of Brescia The University of Brescia ( it, Università degli Studi di Brescia) is an Italian public research university located in Brescia, Italy. It was founded in 1982 and is branched in 4 Faculties. The University of Brescia was officially established ...

is a public university founded in 1982 and ranked among the Top 700 universities worldwide. It is divided into 4 faculties: Economics, Engineering, Law, Medicine and Surgery. * Catholic University of Brescia, founded in 1968, is a satellite campus of the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore. It is divided into 6 faculties: Literature and Philosophy; Psychology; Education; Language Sciences and Foreign Literature; Mathematics, Physics and Natural Sciences; Political and Social Sciences. Brescia is also home of two academies of fine art (''

Libera Accademia di Belle Arti Libera Accademia di Belle Arti (Academy of Fine Arts), or ''LABA'' in short, is a Fine Arts University in Italy, with main campus in Brescia and branch campuses in Florence, Rimini and Torbole sul Garda. LABA offers undergraduate and postgrad ...

'' (LABA) and ''Accademia di Belle Arti SantaGiulia'') and a conservatory of music (''Conservatorio Luca Marenzio'').

Healthcare

Brescia is an important medical centre. The main hospital of the city is ''Spedali Civili di Brescia'', which has 2,180 beds and an employed staff of 6,175. It was founded in 1427 and is considered the second best hospital in Italy. Other hospitals are located in the city: ''Fondazione Poliambulanza'', ''Casa di Cura S. Camillo'', ''Istituto Clinico S. Anna'' and ''Istituto Clinico Città di Brescia''.

Economy

The city is at the centre of the third largest Italian industrial area. The local Confindustria, the AIB – Associazione Industriale Bresciana (Industrial Association of Brescia), was the first industry association founded in Italy in 1897. The Brescian companies are typically a small or medium-sized, often family-run, ranging from the food to the engineering industry.

Agriculture

Vigneto Pusterla Ronco Capretti e Ronchi Brescia

The viticulture is the most important agricultural sector of the Brescian

food system The term food system describes the interconnected systems and processes that influence nutrition Nutrition is the biochemical and physiological process by which an organism uses food to support its life. It provides organisms with nutrients ...

. The municipality of Brescia is part of the production areas of five different wines: a

DOCG The following four classifications of wine constitute the Italian system of labelling and legally protecting Italian wine: * ''Denominazione di origine'' (DO, rarely used; ; English: “designation of origin”), * ''Indicazione geografica tipi ...

wine, i.e. the ''

'', three DOC wines (''Botticino'', ''Cellatica'' and ''Curtefranca'') and an IGT wine (''Ronchi di Brescia''). In addition, in its old town, along the northern slope of the Cidneo Hill, there is the largest urban vineyard in Europe, characterized by the cultivation of ''Invernenga'', a local white grape variety present in Brescia since Roman times. Another very important sector is the production of

olive oil Olive oil is a liquid fat obtained from olives (the fruit of ''Olea europaea''; family Oleaceae), a traditional tree crop of the Mediterranean Basin, produced by pressing whole olives and extracting the oil. It is commonly used in cooking: f ...

, especially in the nearby area of Lake Garda. The European Union has recorded as PDO two typologies of extra virgin olive oils and they are ''Garda'' and ''Laghi lombardi''. Brescia is also the homeland of Italian caviar. In Calvisano, about south of the city centre, is located the world's largest sturgeons farm that produces annually 25 tonnes of caviar exported all over the world.

Industry and services

The main industrial activities of Brescia are those mechanical, specialized in the production and distribution of machine tools. Also important is the production of

motor vehicle A motor vehicle, also known as motorized vehicle or automotive vehicle, is a self-propelled land vehicle, commonly wheeled, that does not operate on Track (rail transport), rails (such as trains or trams) and is used for the transportation of pe ...

, represented by the OM, which is the manufacturer of

Iveco IVECO, an acronym for Industrial Vehicles Corporation, is an Italian multinational transport vehicle manufacturing company. It designs and builds light, medium, and heavy commercial vehicles. The name IVECO first appeared in 1975 after a merger o ...

trucks, and the production of weapons, among which the Fausti, Beretta, Fabarm and Perazzi. ''Fausti has been manufacturing hunting and competition shotguns since 1948 with great care and passion, and century-old traditions with modern technological advances. The company, founded by Cavalier Stefano Fausti, is now run by his three daughters Elena, Giovanna and Barbara.'' Very important is the metallurgical industry. On the outskirts of town, there are two steel mills: the "Alfa Acciai" and "Ori Martin". Other crucial industrial activities are the production of

cutlery Cutlery (also referred to as silverware, flatware, or tableware), includes any hand implement used in preparing, serving, and especially eating food in Western culture. A person who makes or sells cutlery is called a cutler. The city of Sheffie ...

and faucets, along with the textile, footwear and clothing, as well as the production of building materials and bricks. The intense industrial development has resulted in a high level of pollution in the outskirts of the city located near the disused chemical factory "Caffaro" that produced PCB. For this reason, this part of the city is in the list of SIN – Siti di Interesse Nazionale (Sites of National Interest). Brescia hosts the headquarters of several industry groups, including the Lucchini Group, the Feralpi and the Camozzi Group. Brescia is also home to the

Group (the result of the merger of ASM Brescia, AEM Milano and AMSA). The financial sector is also a major employer, with the presence of several branches of banks and financial assets. The UBI Banca Group, fourth largest banking group in Italy, has several division headquarters in the city.

Tourism

The significant historical and artistic heritage of Brescia (since 2011 in the UNESCO World Heritage list) and the natural beauties of its surrounding area (like the Lake Garda, the Val Camonica and the Lake Iseo) have allowed the city to attract an increasing number of visitors. In 10 years, the number of tourists who visited Brescia has almost doubled from 142,556 in 2003 to over 280,000 in 2013. Additionally, Brescia is close to important tourist destinations ( Milan can be directly reached in 45 minutes by train,

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 ...

and Florence in about 2 hours) and is one of the cheapest cities in Italy in terms of hotel stays. For these reasons, tourists often use Brescia as a base to explore the surrounding places.

Transport

Brescia Mobilità (BM) is the statutory corporation responsible for the transport network in Brescia; it operates one metro line (Brescia Metro) and 19 urban bus lines. Besides public transport, BM manages the interchange parking lots and other transportation services including

bike sharing A bicycle-sharing system, bike share program, public bicycle scheme, or public bike share (PBS) scheme, is a shared transport service where bicycles are available for shared use by individuals at low cost. The programmes themselves include bot ...

and

carsharing Carsharing or car sharing (AU, NZ, CA, TH, & US) or car clubs (UK) is a model of car rental where people rent cars for short periods of time, often by the hour. It differs from traditional car rental in that the owners of the cars are often pri ...

systems. Since 2004 in the city center of Brescia is active a traffic restricted zone or ZTL ( it, Zona a Traffico Limitato). The objective of the ZTL, together with a program of pedestrianizations of the main squares and streets of the historical center, is to drastically reduce the chronic traffic jams that take place in the city of Brescia, promoting sustainable mobility and public transport, and decreasing the existing levels of smog that have become unsustainable from the point of view of public health.

Brescia Metro

Metropolitana di Brescia - Fermata Vittoria - banchina

The

Brescia Metro The Brescia Metro ( it, Metropolitana di Brescia) is a rapid transit network serving Brescia, Lombardy, Italy. The network comprises a single line, having a length of and a total of 17 stations from ''Prealpino'' to ''Sant´Eufemia-Buffalora'', ...

is a rapid transit network that opened on 2 March 2013. The network comprises one line, long, with 17 stations between ''Buffalora'' and ''Prealpino'', of which 13 are underground. The first projects for a metro in Brescia date back to the 1980s, with the introduction of the first fully automatic light metro systems in other mid-size cities in Europe. Two feasibility studies were commissioned in 1987. The automatic light metro system was chosen as the best technology for the city. The first public tender was announced in 1989. But this project was then cancelled in 1996. In 1994, the first application for public financing was issued. The public financing form the central government arrived in 1995, while other funds arrived in 2002 from the Region. The international public bid for the first phase of the project was announced in 2000. The winning proposal was from a group of companies comprising Ansaldo STS,

AnsaldoBreda Hitachi Rail Italy S.p.A. is a multinational rolling stock manufacturer company based in Pistoia, Italy. Formerly AnsaldoBreda S.p.A., a subsidiary of state-owned Finmeccanica, the company was sold in 2015 to Hitachi Rail of Japan. After the dea ...

Astaldi Astaldi S.p.A. is an Italian multinational major construction company based in Rome. The group is active in the fields of civil engineering, hydraulic engineering, Electromechanical Engineering and transportation. Significant subsidiaries incl ...

and

Acciona Acciona, S.A. () is a Spanish multinational conglomerate dedicated to the development and management of infrastructure (construction, water, industrial and services) and renewable energy. The company, via subsidiary Acciona Energy, produces 21 te ...

, with a system similar to that of the Copenhagen metro. A€575 million contract was awarded to a consortium led by Ansaldo STS in April 2003. Work started in January 2004, but archaeological finds caused delays and required station redesigns.

Planned tram network

The city is due to reintroduce trams after dismantling its former network in the 1940s. Two light rail lines are due to open in 2027. Brescia's historic seven-line tram network opened in 1882 and closed in 1949, when the city's transport focus moved onto road-based transport. In 2018, transport authority Brescia Mobilità and Italian state railway Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane signed an agreement for the construction of two tram lines in Brescia. One line would run from Pendolina in the northwest to the new Pala Eib sports centre in the southwest, mostly following the line of current bus route 2. The second route would connect Via Vallecamonica in the west and Viale Bornata in the east.

Rail

Brescia has three railway stations. The main station, which opened in 1854, is located on the Milan-Venice railway and is the starting point for the Brescia-Iseo-Edolo, Brescia-Cremona, Brescia-Parma and Bergamo–Brescia rail lines. The station has 15 platforms and is used by about 20 million passengers per year. Other railway stations are ''Borgo San Giovanni'' (a lesser station that is located on the Brescia-Iseo-Edolo railway) and ''Brescia Scalo'', with no passenger service and used as a freight station. From Brescia,

high speed trains High-speed rail (HSR) is a type of rail system that runs significantly faster than traditional rail, using an integrated system of specialised rolling stock and dedicated tracks. While there is no single standard that applies worldwide, lines ...

connect to Milan, Rome, Naples, Turin, Bologna, Florence and

; one can reach Milan in 35 min, Venice in 1h and 35 min, Florence in 2 hours and 15 min and Rome in 3 hours and 35 min. In addition there are international day trains to Zurich, and overnight sleeper services to Paris and Dijon (Thello), Munich and Vienna (ÖBB).

Roads

Brescia is connected with the rest of Northern Italy by three motorways: * A4, that is the main axis connecting the city with the east and the west of the country, to cities such as Milan, Turin, Venice and Trieste; * A21, which connects Brescia to Turin with a more southern route than A4; * A35, which connects Brescia to Milan and the Linate Airport with a faster route than A4.

Airports

Brescia is served by the following airports: *

Brescia Airport Brescia "Gabriele D'Annunzio" Airport ( it, Aeroporto di Brescia, ), also known as Montichiari Airport, is located in Montichiari, southeast of City of Brescia, Italy. Other nearby airports are Milan-Malpensa, Milan-Linate, Bergamo Orio al Ser ...

, located south-east of the city *

Bergamo Orio al Serio Airport Orio al Serio International Airport, () the third busiest international airport in Italy, is in Orio al Serio, southeast of Bergamo and north-east of Milan, where it operates alongside Malpensa Airport and Linate Airport, the city's other tw ...

, located north-west of Brescia * Verona Villafranca Airport, located south-east of Brescia *

Milan Linate Airport Milan Linate Airport is the third international airport of Milan, the second-largest city and largest urban area of Italy, behind Malpensa Airport and Orio al Serio Airport. It served 9,233,475 passengers in 2018, being the fifth busiest air ...

, located west of Brescia * Malpensa Airport, located north-west of Brescia

Pollution

Brescia is at the top of the ranking of European cities with the highest preventable mortality burdens for PM2.5 pollution in a new study published in January 2021 by The Lancet Planetary Health, which estimates the death rate associated with fine

particulate matter Particulates – also known as atmospheric aerosol particles, atmospheric particulate matter, particulate matter (PM) or suspended particulate matter (SPM) – are microscopic particles of solid or liquid matter suspended in the air. The ter ...

(PM2.5) and nitrogen dioxide (NO₂) pollution in 1000 European cities. Legambiente based on the number of days the legal air-quality limits were breached in 2018. The report said Brescia failed to respect the legal limits for 150 days last year, 103 for ozone and 47 for Pm10 particles.

Sports

Brescia was the starting and end point of the historical car race Mille Miglia that took place annually in May until 1957 on a Brescia-Rome-Brescia itinerary, and also the now defunct Coppa Florio, one of the first ever sport motor races. The Mille Miglia tradition is now kept alive by the "Historic Mille Miglia", a world-class event that gathers in Brescia every year thousands of fans of motor sports and of vintage sports cars. The only cars admitted to the race are the ones that could have competed in (although they do not necessarily have to have taken part in) the original Mille Miglia. The race nowadays is not however a speed race anymore, but rather a "regularity" race; speed races have actually been banned on regular roads in Italy because of the deadly accident that killed a driver and ten bystanders in the last minutes of the 1957 Mille Miglia – that therefore became the last of the original races.
In recent years, many celebrities have participated in the Mille Miglia, including

Rowan Atkinson Rowan Sebastian Atkinson (born 6 January 1955) is an English actor, comedian and writer. He played the title roles on the sitcoms '' Blackadder'' (1983–1989) and ''Mr. Bean'' (1990–1995), and the film series ''Johnny English'' (2003–201 ...

Daniel Day Lewis Sir Daniel Michael Blake Day-Lewis (born 29 April 1957) is an English retired actor. Often described as one of the preeminent actors of his generation, he received numerous accolades throughout his career which spanned over four decades, incl ...

, Jeremy Irons,

Jay Leno James Douglas Muir Leno (; born April 28, 1950) is an American television host, comedian, writer, and actor. After doing stand-up comedy for years, he became the host of NBC's ''The Tonight Show'' from 1992 to 2009. Beginning in September 2009 ...

Brian Johnson Brian Johnson (born 5 October 1947) is an English singer and songwriter. In 1980, after the death of Bon Scott, he became the third lead singer of the Australian rock band AC/DC. He and the rest of the band were inducted into the Rock and Rol ...

, Elliot Gleave, David Gandy, Jodie Kidd, Yasmin Le Bon and others. Brescia is also the home of the

Brescia Calcio Brescia Calcio, commonly referred to as Brescia (), is an Italian football club based in Brescia, Lombardy, that currently plays in . The club holds the record for total number of seasons (64) and consecutive seasons (18, from 1947–48 to 1 ...

football club and the Rugby Leonessa 1928. Since 1984, the Schermabrescia fencing club is active. Brescia born foil-fencer Andrea Cassarà won the gold medal at the

2011 World Fencing Championships The 2011 World Fencing Championships was held at Catania, Italy from 8–16 October. Medal table Men's events Women's events External links FIEOfficial website {{World Fencing Championships World Fencing Championships W Fencing Cham ...

. Brescia is the home of the

Basket Brescia Leonessa Pallacanestro Brescia S.p.A., known for sponsorship reasons as Germani Brescia, is an Italian professional basketball team based in Brescia, Lombardy. Founded in 2009, the team plays in the Lega Basket Serie A (LBA) since the 2016–17 season a ...

basketball club. Leonessa has its home arena in the new

PalaLeonessa The PalaLeonessa (originally the PalaEIB) is an indoor arena, indoor sports arena that is located in Brescia, Italy. The arena has a seating capacity of 5,200 and is primarily used for basketball. The venue is the home ground of the Lega Basket Se ...

, inaugurated in 2018, with a capacity of 5,200.

People

Monumento a garibaldi5 brescia by stefano Bolognini

Monumento Arnaldo da Brescia Piazzale Arnaldo Brescia

Monumento a Garibaldi Giuseppe Maccagnani lato Nord Brescia

Marcus Nonius Macrinus Marcus Nonius Macrinus was a Roman senator and general during the reigns of the Emperors Antoninus Pius, Lucius Verus, and Marcus Aurelius. Macrinus was suffect consul in the ''nundinium'' of April-June 154 as the colleague of rifernius ?Paet ...

(fl.152–71), Roman general and consul to Emperor Marcus Aurelius *

or Rotari (–652), King of the Lombards * Rodoald or Rodoaldo (–653), King of the Lombards * Desiderius (before 756–), King of the Lombards *

Louis II, Holy Roman Emperor Louis II (825 – 12 August 875), sometimes called the Younger, was the king of Italy and emperor of the Carolingian Empire from 844, co-ruling with his father Lothair I until 855, after which he ruled alone. Louis's usual title was ''impera ...

(825–875), Frankish emperor and King of Italy *

(1090–1155), dissident monk * Albertanus of Brescia (1195–1251), Latin author * Vincenzo Capirola (1474–after 1548), composer *

Vincenzo Foppa Vincenzo Foppa ( – ) was an Italian painter from the Renaissance period. While few of his works survive, he was an esteemed and influential painter during his time and is considered the preeminent leader of the Early Lombard School. He spent hi ...

(–), painter * Laura Cereta (1469–1499), humanist author *

Saint Angela Merici Angela Merici or Angela de Merici ( , ; 21 March 1474 – 27 January 1540) was an Italian religious educator, who is honored as a saint by the Roman Catholic Church. She founded the Company of St. Ursula in 1535 in Brescia, in which women dedi ...

(1474–1540), founded the

Order of Ursulines The Ursulines, also known as the Order of Saint Ursula (post-nominals: OSU), is an enclosed religious order of consecrated women that branched off from the Angelines, also known as the Company of Saint Ursula, in 1572. Like the Angelines, they t ...

in Brescia in 1535 * Girolamo Savoldo (–after 1548), painter * Veronica Gambara (1485–1550), poet and stateswoman * Girolamo Romani, also known as "Romanino" (–), painter * Bartolomeo Beretta (1490–1565), gunsmith and founder of the Beretta firearm company * Alessandro Bonvicino/Buonvicino, commonly known as "Moretto/Il Morretto da Brescia" (–1554), painter * Niccolò Fontana Tartaglia (1499–1557), mathematician * Giovanni Paoli (–1560/1), brought the printing press to the New World in Mexico City *

, (1540–1609), pioneer of violin making * Giuliano Paratico (–), musician & composer * Luca Marenzio/Marentio (1553/4–1599), composer * Benedetto Castelli (1578–1643), mathematician and expert in hydraulics *

Giulio Alenio Giulio Aleni ( la, Julius Alenius; 1582– 10 June 1649), in Chinese , was an Italian Jesuit missionary and scholar. He was born in Leno near Brescia in Italy, at the time part of the Republic of Venice, and died at Yanping in China. He becam ...

(1582–1649), Jesuit missionary called the " Confucius from the West" * Giovanni Battista Fontana (1589–1630), composer * Biagio Marini (1594–1663), composer *

Dionisio Boldo Dionisio Boldo (active 1604) was an Italian painter of the Baroque period, mainly active in Brescia. He trained with Giulio Clovio. He specialized in painting miniature watercolor paintings. He also worked as an architect for the church of San Pe ...

(fl.1604), painter * Francesco Lana de Terzi (1631–1687), aeronautics and braille pioneer *

Carlo Bacchiocco Carlo Bacchiocco was an Italian painter, born in Milan. The volume ''Scelte Pitture di Brescia'' by Averoldo mentions several of his pictures in Brescia Brescia (, locally ; lmo, link=no, label= Lombard, Brèsa ; lat, Brixia; vec, Bressa) i ...

, 17th-century painter with work in Brescia *

Paris Francesco Alghisi Paris Francesco Alghisi (June 19, 1666 – March 29–30, 1733) was an Italian organist and composer. He was born in and died in Brescia. Notable works Operas * ''L'amor di Curzio per la patria'' (libretto by G. C. Corradi, 1690, Venice) * ''I ...

(1666–1733), composer *

Giovanni Bassignani Giovanni Bassignani (1669 – May 1717) was an Italian architect and engineer of the late-Baroque. Born in Brescia, to Tuscan parents, he studied in Padua then traveled to Venice, Modena, and Genoa. He aided the Venetian Republic The Republ ...

(1669–1717), architect & engineer * Pietro Gnocchi (1689–1775), eccentric polymath and composer *

Gaetano Crivelli Gaetano Crivelli (20 October 1768 – 16 July 1836) was a celebrated Italian tenor. Although he was born not actually in Bergamo but in neighbouring Brescia, Crivelli can be regarded as one of the founders of that remarkable Bergamo tenor schoo ...

(1768–1836), opera singer *

Giacomo Rossetti Giacomo Rossetti ( Marone, 1807 - Brescia, 1882) was an Italian painter and photographer. He studied at the academy Carrara di Bergamo. He became prominent after making a famous portrait of Garibaldi, and later became a passionate photographer d ...

(1807–1882), painter and photographer *

Saint In religious belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of Q-D-Š, holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and Christian denomination, denominat ...

Maria Crocifissa di Rosa (1813–1855), who founded the

Handmaids of Charity The Handmaids of Charity (Italian: ''Ancelle della Carità''; Latin: ''Congregatio Ancillarum a Charitate''; abbreviation: ''A.D.C.'') is a religious institute of pontifical right whose members profess public vows of chastity, poverty, and obed ...

order of nuns in Brescia in 1840 *

Enrico Crivelli Enrico Crivelli (20 July 1820 – c.1870) was an Italian opera singer who sang leading baritone and bass-baritone roles in the major opera houses of Italy as well as in Spain, Russia, Germany, France, and England. He also composed collections of ...

(1820–1870), opera singer and son of

* Giuseppe Zanardelli (1826–1903), jurist, politician, prime minister of the Kingdom of Italy (1901–1903) *

Giovanni Battista Piamarta Giovanni Battista Piamarta (26 November 1841 - 25 April 1913) was an Italian Roman Catholic priest and educator. Piamarta was also the founder of the Congregation of the Holy Family of Nazareth. Piamarta established his congregation in 1900 in ...

(1841–1913), priest and educator, founder of the

Congregation of the Holy Family of Nazareth The Piamartini, officially known as the Congregation of the Holy Family of Nazareth of Blessed Father Piamarta ( it, Congregazione della Sacra Famiglia di Nazareth del Beato Padre Piamarta; abbreviated FN) is a Catholic clerical religious congrega ...

Camillo Golgi Camillo Golgi (; 7 July 184321 January 1926) was an Italian biologist and pathologist known for his works on the central nervous system. He studied medicine at the University of Pavia (where he later spent most of his professional career) betwee ...

, (1843–1926), experimental pathologist, received Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1906 for his studies of the structure of the nervous system * Pope Paul VI (1897–1978), born nearby in Concesio as Giovanni Battista Montini *

Guglielmo Achille Cavellini Guglielmo Achille Cavellini (11 September 1914 – 20 November 1990), also known as GAC, was an Italian artist and art collector. After an initial activity as a painter, in the 1940s and 1950s he became one of the major collectors of contemporary ...

(1914–1990), art collector and artist * Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli (1920–1995), pianist of the 20th century *

Remo Bertoni Remo Bertoni (21 June 1909 – 18 September 1973) was an Italian professional road bicycle racer. Bertoni was born in Borgomanero. He is best known for his silver medal in the Elite race of the 1932 UCI Road World Championships. He d ...

(born 1929), football player *Emanuele Severino (1929–2020), philosopher and composer * Giacomo Agostini (born 1942), Grand Prix motorcycle racer and World Champion 1964–1977 * Carlo Giannini (born 1948), econometrician and mathematical economist * Maurizio Venturi (born 1957), football player and manager * Giuseppe Baresi (born 1958), football player * Franco Baresi (born 1960), football player * Sergio Scariolo (born 1961), basketball coach * Vittorio Colao (born 1961), businessman * Riccardo Frizza (born 1971), conductor * Manuel Belleri (born 1977), football player * Marco Cassetti (born 1977), football player * Andrea Pirlo (born 1979), football player * Daniele Bonera (born 1981), football player * L'Aura (born 1984), singer-songwriter * Andrea Cassarà (born 1984), world champion fencer * Nino Bertasio (born 1988), professional golfer * Federico Colli (born 1988), classical pianist * Vanessa Ferrari (born 1990), gymnast * VINAI (born 1990/1994), DJs and EDM producers * Marcell Jacobs (born 1994), athlete * Davide Calabria (born 1996), football player * Vittoria Ceretti (born 1998), model * Blanco (singer), Riccardo "Blanco" Fabbriconi (born 2003), singer and rapper, Italian representative at the Eurovision Song Contest 2022

International relations

In Brazil there is a town called Nova Bréscia. This name was given by its first citizens, who were from Brescia.

Twin towns – sister cities

Brescia is Twin towns and sister cities, twinned with: * Darmstadt, Germany (1991) * Logroño, Spain (2006) * Bethlehem, Palestine (2007) * Troyes, France (2016) * Kaunas, Lithuania (2022)

Consulates

Brescia is home to the following Consul (representative)#Consulates and embassies, consulates: * * * * *

Gallery

File:Basilica di Santa Maria delle Grazie interno Brescia.jpg, Interior view of the Santa Maria delle Grazie, Brescia, ''Santa Maria delle Grazie'' church File:Santuario di Santa Maria delle Grazie interno Brescia.jpg, Internal view of the ''Santuario di Santa Maria delle Grazie'' church File:Santo Corpo di Cristo church interior anteporta Brescia.jpg, Internal view of the ''Santissimo Corpo di Cristo'' church File:San Barnaba facciata Brescia.jpg, Former ''San Barnaba'' church File:Chiesa di San Faustino in Riposo esterno est Brescia.jpg, ''San Faustino in Riposo'' church File:Chiesa di San Marco Evangelista facciata Brescia.jpg, ''San Marco Evangelista'' church File:Tomba del cane lato Nord Brescia.jpg, Bonomini Tomb also known as the Dog's Tomb File:Palazzo Maggi-Gambara al Fontanone Brescia.jpg, Maggi-Gambara Palace File:Palazzo Bertolotti Brescia.jpg, Bertolotti Palace File:Palazzo Beretta in Piazza del Mercato Brescia.jpg, Beretta Palace File:Palazzo Martinengo Palatini in Piazza Mercato Brescia 2020.jpg, Martinengo Palace File:Duomo vecchio e duomo nuovo notturna Brescia.jpg, ''Piazza Duomo'' by night File:Brescia Castello fortificazioni ingresso 500esco.jpg, The Castle's main entrance File:Brescia, Province of Brescia, Italy - panoramio (8).jpg, Street in the old city center File:Brescia, Province of Brescia, Italy - panoramio (62).jpg, Roman ruins File:Teatro Romano da est Brescia.jpg, Roman Theatre section File:Corso Zanardelli e Teatro Grande Brescia.jpg, ''Corso Zanardelli'' and ''Teatro Grande'' main entrance File:Palazzo Bruni Conter monumento Tartaglia in Brescia.jpg, Bruni Conter Palace and Niccolò Tartaglia statue File:Torre d'Ercole facciata sud Brescia.jpg, ''Torre d'Ercole'' File:Brescia Via Barricate & Duomo nuovo.jpg, Steps in the old town File:Brescia Via X Giornate Arkaden 7.jpg, Arcades

Fountains

For many years Brescia has been considered a "city of water" due to the presence of many canals and natural waterways, as the French author Paul de Musset (1804–1880) once wrote: "The wide streets and numerous fountains give it an air of a big city. Water gushes in the squares and circulates in private homes almost as abundantly as in Rome". File:Brescia, Province of Brescia, Italy - panoramio (91).jpg, Medieval fountain File:Brescia, Province of Brescia, Italy - panoramio (60).jpg, Tagliaferri fountain File:Neptune fountain Palazzo Bruni Conter Brescia.jpg, Neptune fountain File:Brescia statua di Minerva del Cignaroli in piazza Duomo.jpg, Minerva fountain File:Fontana della Pallata Brescia.jpg, Pallata fountain File:Fontana in piazza Paolo VI Brescia armata Callegari.jpg, Armed Brescia fountain File:2017-03 Brescia Mattes Pana (52).JPG, Private fountain File:Brescia via Musei fontana.jpg, Private fountain File:Brescia fontana del Vescovado.jpg, Vescovado fountain

Cultural references

Astronomy

The 521 Brixia planetoid is named after the city.

Music

The debut album of Russian post-punk command "Сукины сыны" bears the name "Из Брешии в Брешию" ("From Brescia into Brescia"

References and sources

; References ; Sources * *

Bibliography

Brescia 1849 la Compagnia della Stampa Gianluigi Valotti Anno edizione: 2018

External links

Brescia Tourism official site: useful information, guide destination and hotel, airport

Tourist Office of the City of Brescia

Brescia Museums official site

University of Brescia official site

Catholic University of Brescia
{{Authority control Brescia, Castles in Italy Cities and towns in Lombardy World Heritage Sites in Italy Domini di Terraferma Territories of the Republic of Venice Populated places established in the 2nd millennium BC