Brescia & its Astonishing Museum of Santa Giulia
Piazza Loggia Bresci
Few people would put Brescia, the 2nd largest city in Lombardy, near the top of their list of places to visit in Italy – perhaps because it is such an industrial city and associated with steel and arms manufacturing.
Walking along the historical streets of the city, sipping the famous bubbly Franciacorta made in the province and, above all, visiting its historical heart is enough to change one’s mind. The Old Cathedral with its 6th-century crypt and the evocative Palazzo Broletto are just some of the historical monuments which bring the city’s medieval past to life, but what makes Brescia a World Historical Site worth putting on a bucket list is its Capitolium complex and the adjacent Museum Santa Giulia, which lie on the Decumanus Maximus of the old Roman city, then called Brixia.
The ruins of the Capitolium in the centre of the ancient Roman town of Brixia
The Capitolium, a temple dedicated to Jupiter, Juno and Minerva, was erected in the 1st century CE on top of an earlier, republican, temple whose lower segment houses perhaps the best-preserved Roman frescos in Northern Italy. The walls of the four 4 rooms which comprise the earlier temple are covered in brightly covered faux marbling, as well as columns which mirror the colonnade that surrounds the area. An inscription on the façade of the Capitolium declares that it was paid for by the emperor Vespasian in thanksgiving for the aid Brixia had given him in his struggle against Vitellius, who vied with him for ultimate power.
The Republican sanctuary rooms under the Capitoline temple, built in the 1st century BC
Though 19th-century restoration of the pediment and cella allow us to envisage what the temple was like originally, it is the extraordinary cache of statues that makes this an exceptional monument. In particular, the life size bronze statue of the Victoria, now exhibited in the Capitolium, has been heralded by scholars and visitors alike since it was discovered in 1826, carefully stashed away in different segments in a corner of the temple.
Bronze statue of the Victoria, now exhibited in the Capitolium. This Photo was taken by Wolfgang Moroder
Victoria, recently restored, is depicted gracefully in the act of inscribing on a bronze shield which is now missing. Although the quality of the craftsmanship of the Victoria statue is considerably superior, the six gilded busts which were discovered with it, hidden away presumably in order to prevent them from being desecrated by invading forces, are also of interest. Dating to the late antique period, they depict a series of emperors, ranging from Septimius Severus to later Illyrian rulers.
The six gilt bronze busts found in 1826 at the Capitolium of ancient Brixia
Today these busts are stored in what has to be one of the most extraordinary museums in Italy, not only for the quality of its artefacts but the range of in situ edifices. The Santa Giulia Museum is located in a deconsecrated monastery whose foundations lie in the 8th century, when the city was an important Lombard duchy. The oldest remains date to the Roman period; these are two Roman domus discovered in the 1960s by archaeologists excavating in what was the monastery’s vegetable garden. Inhabited between the 1st and 4th centuries CE, the houses were discovered in a remarkable state of preservation, covered as they were by remains of their collapsed upper storeys. The two houses, the Domus of Dionysus and the Domus of the Fountains, are decorated with extensive well-kept mosaics and frescos, and contain a series of fountains as well as a bath complex.
Domus of the Fountains, Museo di Santa Giulia
Down a few corridors lined with Roman mosaics and artefacts (including precious gems and votive remains found in the Capitolium), is the monastery’s church, the Basilica of San Salvatore, which is a World Heritage monument for its importance in Lombard history. Erected in 753 CE by will of the last Lombard King of Italy, Desiderius, the church was built on top of a Roman domus as well as a Palaeochristian church dedicated to Saints Peter and Michael.
The Santa Giulia and San Salvatore churches in the Museo di Santa Giulia complex in Brescia. This Photo was taken by Wolfgang Moroder.
The importance of the church is indicated by the fact that it became a royal mausoleum, containing the remains of Queen Ansa and Princess Anselperga, the monastery’s first abbess. It is hardly surprising then that the church was extensively decorated with re-used Roman columns and Byzantine style frescos, some of which survive, along with some executed by the 16th-century artist Paolo da Caylina.
The Santa Giulia museum complex, today a Unesco World Heritage Site
Between the Basilica of San Salvatore and the 16th-century Church of Santa Giulia, the Coro delle Monache is another remarkable gem located in the museum. Built between the 15th and 16th centuries as the monastery’s choir, it is completely covered in 16th-century frescos carried out by Paolo da Caylina and Floriano Ferramola. These include depictions of saints, such as San Rocco, as well as scenes from the life of Christ, among which are the Nativity and Massacre of the Innocents.
Frescos in Coro delle Monache, Brescia
The little church of Santa Maria in Solario is yet another building which makes up the Santa Giulia complex. Dating to the 12th century, it is awash with colourful frescos, some dating to the 15th century, though most are carried out by the local artist Ferramola. The brightly coloured sky on the cupola is accompanied by a series of mosaics recounting the life of Saint Giulia, the Palaeochristian Carthaginian martyr whose relics were brought to the city by the Lombard queen Ansa.
Santa Maria in Solario, Brescia
The church of Santa Maria in Solario is perhaps more famous for the two masterpieces it stores, including the Lipsanoteca, or reliquary, of Brescia, a stunning ivory box intricately decorated with scenes from the Old and New Testament. Dating to the latter part of the 4th century and probably made by a Milanese artist, it is unclear how it was brought to Brescia, though this might have been in the Lombard period.
Lipsanoteca in the Santa Maria in Solario, Brescia. This Photo was taken by Wolfgang Moroder.
Even more famous (which appears in the photo two above) is the Cross of Desiderius - a processional cross first made in the Carolingian period and decorated with 211 precious gems which vary in date from the 1st to the 17th century. Along with a cameo depicting Augustus and another depicting Christ Pantocrator, there is a 3rd-century gilded glass medallion once thought to depict Galla Placidia and her two children, Valentinian III and Justa Grata Honoria.
The sheer breath of artefacts housed in this museum, along with the stunning buildings which make up the monastery, or found under it, makes Brescia a must-see city.
LOMBARDY & THE VENETO
FROM MILAN TO VENICE
On this new 17-day tour, Dr Eireann Marshall takes us east from the cosmopolitan city of Milan in Lombardy through Bergamo and Brescia to Lake Garda where we cross into the Veneto, travelling through the cities of Verona, Padova and Vicenza before ending in the exquisite time capsule that is Venice.
