Entries about brescia

More than a week ago I spent some days in Gargnano.

Gargnano is a village on the western shore of lake Garda; in the Lombardy region. It if formed of thirteen districts.

There is a nice harbour surrounded by a number of colourful houses in Gargnano.

There is a good choice of shops on the main street in Gargnano. There is also an hotel and a some cafes.

I spent four nights at hotel Lido. It is very near the lake and it is situaed in Villa; a district of Gargnano.

My room was nice; the food served at dinner was good.

In 1912 the English writer D. H. Lawrence lived with his lover Frieda Weekley von Richthofen for six month in Villa.

The house where Lawrence stayed is still there. It is quite near the hotel Lido. It was refurbished and it is used as flats to let.

Bogliaco is a district of Gargnano. Its old core is really beautiful.

Even Bogliaco has a harbour with colourful houses.

Every september the Bogliaco harbour is the starting point of a famous boat race; the Regatta Internazionale della Centomiglia.

I spotted some beautiful frescoes in the old core of Bogliaco.

I liked a lot the old core in Bogliaco.

The old core in Bogliaco is made of a few streets. It doesn' t take long to explore it.

From the harbour in Bogliaco you can see a beautiful ladscape over Gargano.

The main sight in Bogliaco is a very large mansion. Villa Bettoni. It was built between 1764 and 1767.

It is possible to visit it inside only on guided tours. You have to book it beforehand.

Another place I visited was Gardone Riviera. This is a tourist resort not far from Gargnano.

It is made of two areas; Gardone di Sopra (upper Gardone) and Gardone di Sotto (lower Gardone).

In Gardone di Sopra you can find one of the highlights of Gardone Riviera; il Vittoriale degli Italiani.

It is a hillside estate; a monumental complex commissioned by the writer, poet, jounalist and Gabriele d' Annunzio.

At Il Vittoriale you can visit various museums and the last residence of d' Annunzio (the Prioria).

There is also its burial place and a large outdoor theatre here.

Before my visit to the residence of d' Annunzio I took a short stroll in the gardens of the Vittoriale.

La Prioria (the priory) is the mansion where d' Annunzio lived from 1922 until his death in 1938.

Into this dimly lit villa the rooms are crammed with books, art objects, musical instruments and lost of other things.

Into the Prioria you will visit the writer' s workshop, the kichen, the music room, the bathroom and several other rooms.

Unfortunately it is not allowed to take pictures into the Prioria.

Near the Prioria there is a large room; the Auditorium. Inside you can watch a movie about the life of d' Annunzio.

Morever; into this room; hanged to the roof there is a two seated S. V. A. airplane. D' Annunzio reached Vienna on its board in 1918.

Gardone di Sopra (Upper Gardone) is a beautiful old small village.

In Gardone di Sopra there are some small shops.

There is a good choice of restaurants and cafes in Gardone di Sopra.

Most of the hotels and other accomodations in Gardone sul Garda are located in Gardone di Sotto.

This is he Grand Hotel. A old and long palace.

Gardone di Sotto has a nice, but quite short lakeside promenade.

I liked a lot this holiday, even if it was too short!

Piazza della Loggia takes its name from one of the palaces that border it; the Palazzo della Loggia. It was built between 1492 and 1570. Today it houses the town hall. Opposite this palace you can see a long building with arcades and a clock tower. It was built in 1595.

There are some other buildings at piazza della Loggia, as the Monte di Pietà; the old and the new one.

Piazza della Loggia was the site of a terrorist attack in 1974. It was a bombing. This happened during an anti fascist protest.
Eight people died and 102 were injured.

Here you see the astronomical clock. One of the nicest things on the square; in my opinion.

I visited some churches during my stay in Brescia. This town has lots of these.

I was particularly attracted by the shrine of saint Mary of the Graces. This shrine was built between 1875 and 1907 on the area of a previous church dated to the XIII century.

Inside this church you can see several beautiful paintings as this annunciation to the Virgin.

Just outside the shrine there is a small cloister with a plethora of ex votos on its walls.

I visited the proper church of Saint Mary of the Graces as well. I didn' t take any pics inside because the church was not lit enough. I remember it is extremely decorated.

The church of Santa Maria della Carità is one of the few churches that are opened at lunchtime. Most of these are closed between 12 and 3 p. m. circa. I think this church was opened due to the help of some volunteers.

This church was built in the XVI century. It was reconstructed in 1640 and modified at the beginning of the ' 700. It is richly decorated inside. Some walls or part of these are made of wood resembling decorated marble.

Santa Maria church houses a room where a Madonna' s house (a room) was replicated like the house you can see in Loreto (IT). A similar house was built here because not everyone could visit Loreto and the Madonna' s house.

Another church I visited was Saint Francis' one. It dates to the XII century. It was enlarged between 1300 and 1400.

I like very much this fresco with several friars. Unfortunately the church was poorly lit when I visit it, so this picture turned out quite dark.

This is the Mostassù delle Cossere. A face without a nose.

Here is a legend about it. The emperor Arrigo VII in 1311 chase the Ghibellini (a political faction). Then he lay siege the town and swore to destroy its walls and cut off the noses to the citizens. A priest convinced him to avoid these bad things. So the emperor settled for cutting the noses of the stautes in Brescia.

There are various picturesque narrow streets in Brescia...

Brescia was a very important Roman town. Its name then was Brixia.

Besides the Romans founds we see on display in the Saint Giulia museum there are several Romans ruins in this town.

Piazza del Foro was where the Roman forum was situated. Here you can see the Capitolium. It was built by the emperor Vespasian in 74 a. D. It is partly restored. There is also what remains of the basilica (law court) nearby.

The forum; in Roman times was the center of the religious and political life.

In this picture you see the Capitolium. I didn' t go inside, but I will probably do next time I visit Brescia. I have read there are some areas decorated and well preserved into this temple.

Near piazza del Foro and on the same side of the Capltolium there is a quite large Roman theater. Its was constructed from the I to the III centuries a. D.

Well, I think Brescia has more to offer than the attractions I showed you. This town deserves more than a day trip or a two days stay.

I like Brescia!

Brescia is a town located at the foot of the Alps and between two lakes; lake Garda and lake Iseo. It is not far from Milan and from Bergamo.

This town isn' t as popular as other places in Italy, but here you can find several interesting things to see; a large museum, a castle and lots of churches.

Brescia has a good bus system and a convenient metro.

Brescia has two cathedrals. The Duomo Nuovo (the new cathedral) and the Duomo Vecchio (the old one).

The new cathedral was built between 1604 and 1825 on the site of another church.

The old cathedral is a circular Romanesque building constructed at the end of the XI century over the ruins of a previous basilica. It was enlarged through the centuries.

The old cathedral has several frescoes of various eras.

The castle is a large fortress situated on the top of the Cidneo hill. It was built in the 1200 on a previous site. It was enlarged in the 1400 and finished in 1500.

It is worth to climb to the castle, just to enjoy some great landscapes over Brescia.

After the visit to the castle I decided to visit Santa Giulia museum. There is not a restaurant inside, so I had something to eat at the Caffè Vecchia Piazza; a small cafe at piazza Tebaldo Brusato n. 33. It is not far from the museum.

Santa Giulia museum is a complex made of three churches, three cloisters and an archaeological area.

The churches here are; Santa Maria in Solario church; a XII chapel; Saint Giulia and Saint Salvatore churches. The museum has items from the prehistoric era to 1800. Santa Giulia museum was declared UNESCO site some years ago.

The Desiderius' cross is one of the highlight of the museum. It is decorated with jewels, cameos and painted glass. It dates to the IX century.

This is a reliquary made of ivory; it is called lipsanoteca. It is decorated with scenes of the Old and the New Testament. You can find both the Desiderius' cross and the lipsanoteca on the upper floor of Santa Maria in Solario church.

There are lots of Roman artefacts inside this museum.

In this picture you see a gilded bronze head of a Roman emperor.

You can se what remains of a couple of Roman houses at the basement of the museum.

My favourite part of this museum is the Coro delle Monache (the nun' s choir). This is a colourful room where the nuns used to pray. Its walls are almost entirely covered with frescoes.

The nun' s choir was built in the second half of the 1400. Its frescoes date to the 1500.

I could have stayed for a very long time inside the nun' s choir!

Saint Salvatore basilica dates to the VII century. Here, the frescoes are not in good conditions, except these you can see in this picture.

Here you see a close up of these frescoes.

Well,,,to be continued...