The ancient part of the city of Brescia, the Brixia Romana as it has been called since the 1st century BC for the rocky and uneven ground it was built on, is limited on the north-east by the Cidnéo Hill(245 m)
The ancient part of the city of Brescia, the Brixia Romana as it has been called since the 1st century BC for the rocky and uneven ground it was built on, is limited on the north-east by the Cidnéo Hill(245 m). Brich was the Celtic term indicated the rocky peak, the elevated places. And the hill, which gives an enchanting view over the entire city, represented the most important element for urban history from the first primitive settlements of the Bronze Age, until the start of the 1900’s.
The Castle, called “Falcon of Italy” because of its high position over the city, is one of the vastest fortified complexes of the country with its 75000 square meters closed within the walled areas. The ancient Venetian-VIscontea fortress dominates over the city.
Its building structures, well-preserved, are proof of the evolution of military techniques that, in time, made this defense system unassailable and a perfect instrument of control over the city by various “dominators” in Brescia.
By walking up to the top of the hill from the entrance, the visitor goes through a journey back in time: from the military architecture of the 1500’s (beginning of the period of Venetian domination), to those of the 1800’s (period of Austrian occupation) until the more internal Medieval wall, the one built by the Visconti family.
The hill-Castle block has always been, there, an integral part of the city. And yet, going to “the Castle” means not only visiting the imposing fortification, but also walking through the vast recreational areas that are found within the walls or along the shady roads that real the top of the Cidneo hill.
The natural features of the site, starting from the first settlements used for defensive purposes, have, in time, changed their function. The slopes of the Cidneo hill, first bare and covered with rocks to allow for enemy sighting, are totally different today. These slopes starting from the end of XIX century have been completely rearranged and tree-lined roads have been created and monuments and stalks placed; since then, the Castle has had a public role with both a recreational and cultural-scientific function.
The Visconti tower hosts the “Luigi Marzoli” Civic Weapons Museum, one of the most important in Europe because of its significant collection of weapons and armatures of the 1400 and 1500’s and its guns from the 1600 and 1700’s. The material, of great historical and artistic interest, is divided up by historical period and type. The approximately 600 pieces on exhibit offer and expressive documentation of both the weapon production based in the Milan area and the one in Brescia, which boasts a centuries-old tradition.
The Risorgimento Museum is in the Grande Miglio (the Castle), with numerous and important documents, paintings, vintage prints and historical memorabilia. The two sections of the current setup are dedicated to the most important moments and figures of that period and range from the revolutionary years of the XVIII century to the last decades of the XIX century.
http://www.eastlombardy.it
GRATUITO
5.00 EUR
info@bresciamusei.com
- Museo delle armi di Luigi Marzoli
- Museo ferroviario