A few Days in Italy in Fall 2017 – Part 3 – Brescia 2

The Duomo Vecchio

The Duomo Vecchio stands next to the New Cathedral of Brescia. Officially it is called the Winter Co-Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta. Or the Old Cathedral or La Rotonda because of its round setting. And the adjacent main cathedral next to it is known as the Summer Cathedral.
Confusing? A bit! There are only documents that state that the cathedral was build in the 11th century on a basilica layout style church. As far as Romanesque round churches in Italy go this is one of the most important ones.

When you enter the church you see a sarcophagus and behind it the big round space with parts of the roof. What looks quite small from the outside is really big if you see it from the inside.

The sarcophagus of Bishop Berardo Maggi (1308) made of red marble.

The audience of Santa Maria

One of the paintings

Tumb of Balduino Lambertini

Hmmm – looks like some horses

Cappella delle Sante Croci or the Chapel of the Holy Crosses

If you see the outside you would not expect this

A lot of gold

Details!

Not as nice but still..

King Mechisedec offers bread and wine to Abraham from Moretto

Translation of the bodies of Saint Dominator, Saint Paul and Saint Anastastius from Francesco Maffei

This one is different

Almost super modern the way they have the cross

You have to look up in this church

More to see up here

Nice paintings!

Hanging with the angels

Looks different when you are there

Up there is the entrance

Tumb of Domenico de Domenici

Another altar

Palazzo Broletto

The Broletto Palace was once the medieval home of the reigning lords of the city. Now it is the home of the provincial administration. It is located between Via Mazzini and Piazza Paolo VI in Brescia. The first wood building on this place dates back to 1187. Later it got rebuild in stone and the whole thing got bigger.

The Torre del Pegol or tower of the people or tower of the market is about 54 meters high. It was build in the 11th century.

The West Gate or Porta Orientale from the Piazza Paolo VI. The carved template above the door states the Venetian rule and dates back to the 1790s.

Detail of the facade

The portico with loggia from 1626. I wonder if the writing that is gone is not from arround 1937?

Looking towards the tower you can see the roof of the New Cathedral

Up to the Castello

We passed the Piazza Speri to walk up to the Castello.

The Monument to Tito Speri at Brescia. It was formally inaugurated on its original site at the Piazza Speri in Brescia on 1 September 1888. He was the head of the revolt against the Austrian puppet state – the Kingdom of Lombardy-Venetia in the so-called Ten Days of Brescia. That is how long it took the Austrian troops to get the city back.

Right at the entrance! Really?

The Castle of Brescia is also known as Falcone d’Italia (“Falcon of Italy”) was built between the 13th and the 16th century. It is one of the largest castles in Italy. It is located on top of the Cidneo Hill at the northeast side of the town.

Over the entrance – The Lion of Venice

Part of the Castello

One of the towers

The bridge to the inner ring

Up to the gardens

And back down again

On the way down towards the city

Door bells at the Constrada Sant Urbano

Piazza della Loggia

We walked over the Piazza Bell'Italia that is connected to the Piazza della Loggia. The Piazza della Loggia was designed in the middle of the Renaissance period. Towards the end of the fifteenth century, the real construction began. The buildings at the square are all in a quite modest Venetian style.

On the Piazza Bell'Italia

View from the clocktower towards the Bell'Italia

Monument to the Bella Italia from Giovanni Battista Lombardi, erected in in 1864. It is officially a monument to the fallen of the Ten Days of Brescia. At this place was a Venetian column before with the lion of St. Mark on top that got demolished by the revolutionaries in 1797. The original column was erected in 1455. The public executions in Brescia were held for centuries at its base.

There are 4 plates on the sides. This one shows the shooting of captured insurgents of the Ten Days of Brescia

The arcades placed along the east side of the square

The clock tower was built between 1540 and 1550. The clock has two different quadrants which mark the hours, the lunar phases and the zodiacal signs.
On the right you see a memorial for the 8 people that got killed and the 102 wounded ones from the terror attack of May 28, 1974.

On the upper part there are two rods and a bell. Locals called the two man “Macc de le ure” now they are better know as “Tone and Batista”.

The side facing the Piazza della Loggia has an astronomical quadrant and the tympanum painted by Gian Giacomo Lamberti in 1547

Fountain of the dolphins

The Piazza della Loggia with the Town Hall at the end

The Palazzo della Loggia

Monte di Pietà

Entrance of the Palazzo della Loggia

This is what you see if you walk out that door

Look up – he looks down at you!

When you step out to the square you see this

Before the electric bell

Christian painting all over the place

In case you have no clue where you are