San Salvatore (or, for most of its existence, Santa Giulia) is a former

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of Monasticism, monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in Cenobitic monasticism, communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a ...

Brescia Brescia (, ; ; or ; ) is a city and (municipality) in the region of Lombardy, in Italy. It is situated at the foot of the Alps, a few kilometers from the lakes Lake Garda, Garda and Lake Iseo, Iseo. With a population of 199,949, it is the se ...

Lombardy The Lombardy Region (; ) is an administrative regions of Italy, region of Italy that covers ; it is located in northern Italy and has a population of about 10 million people, constituting more than one-sixth of Italy's population. Lombardy is ...

northern Italy Northern Italy (, , ) is a geographical and cultural region in the northern part of Italy. The Italian National Institute of Statistics defines the region as encompassing the four Northwest Italy, northwestern Regions of Italy, regions of Piedmo ...

, now turned into a museum. The monastic complex is famous for the diversity of its architecture which includes

Roman 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 Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

remains and significant

pre-Romanesque The Pre-Romanesque period in European art spans from the emergence of the Merovingian kingdom around 500 AD, or from the Carolingian Renaissance in the late 8th century, to the beginning of the Romanesque period in the 11th century. While t ...

, Romanesque and

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...

buildings. In 2011, it became a

UNESCO World Heritage Site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...

as part of a group of seven inscribed as Longobards in Italy: Places of Power (568–774 A.D.). The monastery is traditionally considered the place where

Desiderata "Desiderata"(Latin: 'things desired') is a 1927 prose poem by the American writer Max Ehrmann. The text was widely distributed in poster form in the 1960s and 1970s. History Max Ehrmann of Terre Haute, Indiana, started writing the work in 1921, ...

, wife of

Charlemagne Charlemagne ( ; 2 April 748 – 28 January 814) was List of Frankish kings, King of the Franks from 768, List of kings of the Lombards, King of the Lombards from 774, and Holy Roman Emperor, Emperor of what is now known as the Carolingian ...

and daughter of the Lombard King

Desiderius Desiderius, also known as Daufer or Dauferius (born – died ), was king of the Lombards in northern Italy, ruling from 756 to 774. The Frankish king of renown, Charlemagne, married Desiderius's daughter and subsequently conquered his realm. De ...

, spent her exile after the annulment of her marriage in 771.

History

San Salvatore was founded in 753 by

, future

king King is a royal title given to a male monarch. A king is an Absolute monarchy, absolute monarch if he holds unrestricted Government, governmental power or exercises full sovereignty over a nation. Conversely, he is a Constitutional monarchy, ...

of the

Lombards The Lombards () or Longobards () were a Germanic peoples, Germanic people who conquered most of the Italian Peninsula between 568 and 774. The medieval Lombard historian Paul the Deacon wrote in the ''History of the Lombards'' (written betwee ...

, and his wife Ansa, as a female monastery, his daughter Anselperga becoming the first abbess. After the Lombard defeat by

, San Salvatore maintained its privileges as a royal institution and enlarged its possessions.

Alfred the Great Alfred the Great ( ; – 26 October 899) was King of the West Saxons from 871 to 886, and King of the Anglo-Saxons from 886 until his death in 899. He was the youngest son of King Æthelwulf and his first wife Osburh, who both died when Alfr ...

visited this monastery when he went to Rome in the 850s. He later founded his own monastery for nuns at

Shaftesbury Abbey Shaftesbury Abbey was an abbey that housed nuns in Shaftesbury, Dorset. It was founded in about 888, and Dissolution of the monasteries, dissolved in 1539 during the English Reformation by the order of Thomas Cromwell, minister to King Henry VI ...

Dorset Dorset ( ; Archaism, archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Somerset to the north-west, Wiltshire to the north and the north-east, Hampshire to the east, t ...

, putting his own daughter in charge; although there is no clear evidence, it is possible he took this monastery as his inspiration.Studies in the Early History of Shaftesbury Abbey. Dorset County Council, 1999 In the 12th century most of the edifices were rebuilt or restored in the Romanesque style, and the oratory of Santa Maria in Solario was erected. In the 15th century, all the structures were again restored and a dormitory was added. In 1599 the church of Santa Giulia was finished. The monastery was suppressed in 1798 after the French invasion of Lombardy and turned into barracks. It remained in poor condition until 1882, when it became a Museum of the Christian Age; the decay was however not totally halted before 1966, with a general restoration and the creation of a new Museum of Santa Giulia.

Overview

The monastery complex includes: *The ''Basilica of San Salvatore'', dating from around the 9th century. It has a nave and two apses and is located over a pre-existing church, which had a single nave and three apses, and in turn was built over a Roman edifice dating from the 1st century BC, destroyed in the 5th century AD. The bell tower, built in the 13th-14th century, has frescoes by Romanino. The interior of the basilica houses frescoes by Paolo da Cailina the Younger, as well as others from the

Carolingian The Carolingian dynasty ( ; known variously as the Carlovingians, Carolingus, Carolings, Karolinger or Karlings) was a Frankish noble family named after Charles Martel and his grandson Charlemagne, descendants of the Arnulfing and Pippinid c ...

age. The presbytery (converted in the 16th century) is a former nuns' choir built in 1466. *The ''Oratory of Santa Maria in Solario'', added in the 12th century. It has a square plan with an octagonal

lantern A lantern is a source of lighting, often portable. It typically features a protective enclosure for the light sourcehistorically usually a candle, a oil lamp, wick in oil, or a thermoluminescence, thermoluminescent Gas mantle, mesh, and often a ...

and small arched

loggia In architecture, a loggia ( , usually , ) is a covered exterior Long gallery, gallery or corridor, often on an upper level, sometimes on the ground level of a building. The corridor is open to the elements because its outer wall is only parti ...

. The central pillar supporting the vault of the ground floor uses a Roman altar to the Sun as its base - while there are other examples of Roman stonework being recycled in the building of this structure it may be that this particular case was intentional as the writing is displayed in its correct orientation (unlike at least one example on the outside south wall of the structure). The second floor is decorated with scenes of the life of

Jesus Jesus (AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Chris ...

. *The 16th-century church of ''Santa Giulia'' (which now serves as the museum conference centre). *The museum holds ancient finds dating from the

Bronze Age The Bronze Age () was a historical period characterised principally by the use of bronze tools and the development of complex urban societies, as well as the adoption of writing in some areas. The Bronze Age is the middle principal period of ...

to Roman times, with some very interesting Iron Age pieces. Among them are the 4th-century ivory

Brescia Casket The Brescia Casket, also called the lipsanotheca of Brescia (in Italian ''lipsanoteca'') or reliquary of Brescia, is an ivory box, perhaps a reliquary, from the late 4th century, which is now in the Museo di Santa Giulia at San Salvatore, Brescia ...

, and the Diptych of Boethius. There is also a plan probably showing the appearance of the Roman centre of Brixia at the time of Emperor

Vespasian Vespasian (; ; 17 November AD 9 – 23 June 79) was Roman emperor from 69 to 79. The last emperor to reign in the Year of the Four Emperors, he founded the Flavian dynasty, which ruled the Empire for 27 years. His fiscal reforms and consolida ...

. The medieval section of the museum houses a processional cross alleged to have belonged to Desiderius (but which is likely slightly later). There are also architectural remnants from local buildings now destroyed, such as frescoes from the city's

Broletto A ''broletto'' in Italy in the Middle Ages, medieval Italy communes was the place where the whole population met for democratic assemblies, and where the elected men lived and administered justice. ''Broletto'' is an ancient Italian language, It ...

, a statue of St. Faustine and a fresco cycle by

Moretto da Brescia 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 da ...

. Also visible in the complex are some Roman houses (

domus In ancient Rome, the ''domus'' (: ''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 ...

), excavated beneath the former nuns' vegetable garden.

Gallery

San Salvatore complex

Museum of Santa Giulia
{{authority control World Heritage Sites in Italy Salvatore Monasteries in Lombardy Museums in Brescia Romanesque architecture in Brescia History museums in Italy Archaeological museums in Italy Religious museums in Italy 750s establishments 8th-century establishments in Italy