Brescia. Italy's eighth-largest city, the industrial capital of the Lombard province, known internationally for precision manufacturing and firearms, has one of the most significant concentrations of Roman archaeological remains in northern Italy, a UNESCO-listed archaeological and monastic complex (inscribed 2011 as "The Lombards in Italy: Places of Power"), and essentially no international tourism infrastructure around any of it. Piazza del Foro in the center of Brescia preserves: the Capitolium (a Roman temple to the Capitoline Triad, built 73 AD under Vespasian, with substantial standing walls and three in-situ bronze statues found in excavations), the Roman theater adjacent to it, and the sanctuary complex beneath these structures that documents the Republican-period religious site these Imperial structures replaced. The Museo di Santa Giulia, the Lombard convent built within a Roman palace whose mosaic floors are partially visible in the museum, has one of the finest collections of late antique and early medieval art in Italy, including the Croce di Desiderio (the votive cross of the Lombard king Desiderius, 772 AD, covered in 212 antique cameos, gems, and ancient coins) and the Winged Victory of Brescia (a first-century BC bronze of extraordinary quality found in the Capitolium excavations).
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The Brescia Archaeological Complex
The Capitolium and the Bronze Statues
The Capitolium temple of Brixia is the best preserved Roman temple in northern Italy, three of its original eight columns still standing at full height, the cella (inner sanctuary) walls substantially intact, and the pronaos (entrance porch) floor partially preserved. The bronze statues found during nineteenth-century excavations beneath the cella floor, placed for safekeeping and never recovered in antiquity, include two togate male figures of early Imperial date and a female bust identified as either Faustina the Elder or a Julio-Claudian princess. These bronzes are displayed in the Museo di Santa Giulia immediately adjacent.
Museo di Santa Giulia
The museum occupies the eighth-century Lombard convent of Santa Giulia, built within the ruins of a Roman domus (urban villa) of the first-second century AD. The museum's three principal treasures: the Winged Victory bronze (first century BC, found in the Capitolium in 1826, 200 cm tall, with the specific combination of technical quality and emotional impact of the finest Hellenistic bronze tradition). The Croce di Desiderio (the reliquary cross of the last Lombard king, 8th century, covered in ancient gems and coins repurposed for Christian sacred use, one of the most unusual objects in Italian museum collections). And the Lipsanotheca of Brescia (an ivory reliquary box of the fourth century with carved scenes from the New Testament, one of the finest late antique ivory works in existence).
Q&A: Brescia Roman Ruins
How do I get to Brescia?
Brescia is on the main Milan-Venice high-speed rail line, approximately 40 minutes from Milan and 50 minutes from Verona by Frecciarossa or regional service. The Roman archaeological complex (Piazza del Foro and the Museo di Santa Giulia) is approximately 15 minutes' walk from Brescia central station, or one stop on the city metro. The city is an excellent day trip or half-day stop between Milan and Lake Garda.
What is the admission cost for the Brescia Roman complex?
The Museo di Santa Giulia (which includes access to the Roman domus beneath and the Capitolium temple adjacent) charges approximately €8-10 for the full museum. The Capitolium exterior and Piazza del Foro are free to walk through at all hours. The museum is closed Mondays. Open Tuesday-Sunday 10am-6pm.
