To understand the ancient history of Brescia we begin from piazza della Loggia, heart of public life. Onto the wide open space face important monuments from renaissance times such as La Loggia, public palace from the 15th century, today seat of the town council, which is distinguished by its particular lead dome. In front one can admire the beautiful Torre dell'Orologio with its precious astronomical clock on top of which can be distinguished ”i macc de le ure“, as the brescians call it, which is the hammers of the hour: two statues in bronze which beat the hours. Passing the way which leads to via Beccarla to admire the rear of the clock on a golden background. Turning into the square we note to the left, on the southern side, the two buildings joined by an arch with a shrine, this is Monti di Pietà, the facade of which is comprised of ancient roman era marble stones. Following the porticoes, typical of many streets in Brescia, and reaching the Torre Bruciata, on the north east side of piazza della Loggia, next to the church of S. Faustino in Riposo. Crossing Porta Bruciata one leaves piazza della Loggia and one enters a small alley where one can find some restaurants characteristic of the city. Following on, since via Beccaria reaches piazza Paolo VI where rise the two churches symbolic of the city: the Duomo Nuovo e il Duomo Vecchio, known also as the Rotonda. The former in late baroque style and the latter, built on the remains of a paleochristian basilica, in romanesque style with the characteristic circular plan, from which it takes its name.

In Paolo VI square, in front of the two churches, we can note the two fountains which enrich the square, placed in a symmetrical manner at the two extremes of the widening. To the right, on the northern side, one can make out the Broletto, the building of quadrangular plan dominated by the beautiful Torre del Pégol, which was the seat of power of the ancient city and which today houses some public offices. Climbing the narrow street which borders the Broletto one arrives in via Musei, the ancient roman decuman. We abandon, therefore, the medieval area to go on the discovery of the roman city, which rose there where today one can admire the remains of Roman Forum. Onto the road face various noble residences among which Palazzo Maggi e Palazzo Martinengo Cesaresco Novarino, seat of exhibitions, which hosts the reconstruction of the ancient roman forum. Immediately to the left opens the Forum with the magnificent remains of Tempio Capitolino, built according to the Emperor Vespasian between '73and '74 A.D. when Brixia was a roman colony. A few steps ahead opens the roman theatre, of which today remains the ruins. Above in via Pietramarta, behind the theatre, one can note the church of S. Corpo di Cristo which belongs to a 15th century convent complex. Leaving this area of the city to arrive at piazzale Arnaldo from where one savours the view of the Ronchi. To the corner with viale Venezia one finds Zilioli one of the most famous confectioners of the city where, begining in autumn, one can sample the Bossolà prepared according to a traditional artisan recipe.

For a dinner based on dished bound to the local traditions, in the heart of historic Brescia, one can go to Locanda dei Guasconi, half way between piazza della Loggia and piazza del Duomo. The evening could then end at Teatro Santa Chiara, to enjoy a show in the theatre set inside a deconsecrated church.

The view of Brescia taken from the third square of the city, that built in fascist times: piazza Vittoria, which rises on the remans of an ancient neighbourhood of squares and lanes. Here, every second sunday of the month is held the traditional antiques market rich in bargains. We follow via X Giornate on which is found the famous Gastronomia Al Ceppo which offers the deliciousness of brescian cuisine. We turn left to admire piazza del mercato onto which faces the beautiful monumental Martinengo Palatini palace. We now move into via Palestro, one of the shopping streets of Brescia, closed to traffic and flanked by elegant boutiques. We continue until we reach via S. Francesco d'Assisi, on which rises the church of S. Francesco d'Assisi one of the most beautiful monuments of the city, withn its 14th century frescoes and cloisters. Exiting the cloister we can reach corso dei Martiri della Libertà tp leave us spellbound at the marble facade of the church of S. Maria dei Miracoli, finely inlaid. A little further on opens corso Matteotti, where another very beautiful church rises, that of SS. Nazaro and Celso, where the Polittico Arverold is housed, young masterpiece by Titian. At this point one can be allowed to pause and eat a quick meal at Mentelocale, with an attractive open air terrace.

We reach via Pace, a parallel of corso Matteotti, to admire the elegant cloister of Palazzo Colleoni. During the visit to the city we can understand the richness and beauty of the cloisters of the beautiful palaces of the era. We continue along the way to reach Torre della Pallata, among the most famous in the city, with la fontana which represents alegorically the rivers Garza and Mella. We then continue along corso Mameli and then once we reach piazza della Loggia we enter via X Giornate, at the end of which we access corso Zanardelli. In front of us is an example of the beautiful porticoes which characterise the city. Thenimposing building in the midst of the arcade is the Teatro Grande, temple of musical culture in the city, which dats from the end of the seventeen hundreds. The next destination is the Pinacoteca Tosio Martinengo which houses some of the most important works of art in the city.We continue along corso Magenta to then turn into via Francesco Crispi, where opens up, the small square made beautiful by trees and flower beds, rising the Pinacoteca which houses, among the other works of art, the Pala della mercanzia by Vincenzo Foppa and some paintings by Raffaello and Moretto. Leaving the museum we can direct ourselves towards piazzale Arnaldo at the begining of which we find the church of S. Afra in S. Eufemia, example of lombard roccoco. At the end of the wide square we find the Gastronomia Moro, a stop not to miss if we want to sample some local specialities.

To dine in one of the most famous and historic restaurants in Brescia one needs to go to the Piazzetta, in an area a little out of the centre, which offers a very refined cuisine both modern which does not rely on tradition. Not to be missed are the fish based dishes.

To appreciate in a single glance the architectural beauty and landscaping of Brescia it is worthwhile going to the top of Castello which dominates the city. We begin from piazza Paolo VI, after the Broletto one crosses the via dei Musei, the street which opens in front and which climbs towards the Cidneo hill, place of the first settlements in the bronze age, and S. Urbano, one of the shortest paths for reaching the fort. Little by little as we climb it is worth while turning our gaze towards the city to admire the dome of Duomo Nuovo, la Torre of Broletto and the dome of the Loggia. The green area which opens in front of us is the Castle Park, one of the preferred places by brescians for walking. We reach the Mastio, built in the viscount era,with the towers and the drawbridge, here we find the directions for the two civic museums: the Museo delle Armi Antiche e il Renaissance Museum, other than the Specola Cidnea, an astronomical observatory. Leaving the museums we follw the path to the summit, where we find the panoramic tower: which dominates the entire city and the view pushes towards the Ronchi, the hills which surround Brescia, and the Monte Maddalena.

Turning downwards one can stop at Chalet to eat a quick meal before redescending to the city and perhaps make a trip to the church of San Pietro in Oliveto to see the two sixteenth century cloisters. Reaching theni via dei Musei which leads us to Museo della Città. It is the complex of Saint Julia which holds within its walls, the cloisters and its chapels, a great part of the history of the city, the origins of which date from longobard king Desiderio. It was he and his wife Ansa, in fact, who built in the 8th century the monastery of S. Salvator where, as Manzoni retells in the tragedy of Adelchi, dies the daughter Ermengarda, the real name of whom was Desideria, ripudiated wife of Carlo Magno. Inside we can visit the archaeological area, with the famous statue of the Vittoria Alata, the rooms which document the prehistoric and roman ages of the city , from the Longobards and the Carolingians, the era of the Lords and that of the venetians. Leaving the museum lovers of precious objects and antiquaria cannot possibly miss the shop Antichità Borelli which offers furniture and precious period objects. A few steps from the museum of Saint Julia it is worth while making a brief visit to the church of S. Maria in Solario and to Palazzo Cigola, 16th century residence cwhich faces onto the garden of piazza Brusato.

To sample the dishes of brescian tradition such as the famous casoncelli one can go to dinner at Labirinto in via Corsica, once an inn where travellers stopped. In the summer months one can decide to take a few steps into the city centre climbing via S. Faustino which is alive with open air venues,until we reach the church of the Saint protectors.