HALF DAY

The guide will meet the group at Bus Terminal - Largo Torrelunga.

The tour begins in Arnold Square (Piazzale Arnaldo), where the Grain Market building witnesses the first half of nineteenth century architecture: a new urban plan for the town, where the real centre had to be very elegant with theatres and boutique, and all the commercial activities had to be located close to the gates.

(The square is dedicated to Arnold of Brescia, an Augustinian Monk that, in XII century, preached against Church and its temporal power, and this led him to death sentence. The statue dates back to the XIX century and there’s an inscription: “… to the martyr of free Italian thought…”). 

Moving on Musei Street (Decumanus Maximus of the Roman Period), the first unexpected discovery:  Forum Square, with Capitoline Temple, remains of the Roman Theatre and remains of lateral Porticoes. An impressive archaeological reality.

The second stop in Paul VI Square, where three monuments stand: The Medieval Communal Palace (Broletto) and the Old Cathedral, both built between XII and XIII century, and the New Cathedral, a real contrast, on the same side of the square, because built in XVII century.

As regards Broletto, it is only possible to cross the internal courtyards, but the two churches can be visited inside: The Old Cathedral, with the pure Lombard Romanesque style atmosphere, the old church crypt, the cross vaults, Roman period remains and paintings by Moretto… the New Cathedral has a baroque and neoclassical style, but also Renaissance paintings by Romanino (Girolamo Romani nicknamed Romanino), that tried to reproduce the Lombard reality.

The tour finishes in Loggia Square, where the Town Hall is one of the most important examples of Renaissance Style in Brescia and the Palladian influence is still visible. Undoubtedly noteworthy, the Clock Tower, with 24 hours, the lunar phases and two automata striking hours. (Very similar to Saint Mark’s square Clock Tower).