Bergamo, Brescia & Cremona - The Italian Lakes - page 309

Top Sights

1 Duomo Vecchio C3

2 Museo della Città D2

3 Tempio Capitolino D2

Sights

4 Castello D1

Civico Museo del Risorgimento (see 4)

5 Duomo Nuovo C3

6 Il Broletto C2

Museo delle Armi Antiche (see 4)

7 Piazza della Vittoria B3

8 Roman Forum D2

9 Roman Theatre D2

10 Torre dell'Orologio B2

Sleeping

11 Albergo Orologio C2

12 Hotel Vittoria B3

Eating

13 La Grotta C4

14 La Sosta B4

15 La Vineria B2

16 Osteria al Bianchi B2

History
Brescia already had centuries of (now obscure) history behind it when the Romans
conquered the Gallic town in 225 BC. In 89 BC, the inhabitants of Brixia, as the Romans
called it, were granted Roman citizenship and the town began to grow in importance as a
centre for the production of bronze implements. With Rome long gone, the Carolingians
took over in the 9th century, and were followed by a millennium's worth of outside rulers
including the Venetians. The city rebelled against the decision to hand it over to Austria in
1797, and again in 1848, when it was dubbed the 'Lioness' for its 10-day uprising against
the Austrians.