The complete opening to the public of the museum complex of Santa Giulia, which represented one of the most important cultural events in Italy in 1999, makes Brescia a new, great attraction for all people fond of history and art. The Monastery of Santa Giulia was founded in 753 A.D. by Desiderius, king of the Lombards, on the site of important Roman domus.
A great deal of extensions and rebuilding have been carried out over the centuries, especially in the period of the medieval Comuni (12th century) and in the late 15th century. The result is a well-constructed complex around three cloisters, as we can admire it nowadays.
On an area of 12,000 square metres, the complex houses the City Museum of the Town having more than 11,000 finds which take the visitor from the prehistoric Age, the Roman, the Lombard and the Carolingian Age and the period of the medieval Comuni and Signorie up to the Venetian Age.
The actual museum merges into the churches of Santa Giulia, San Salvatore and Santa Maria in Solario, thus creating a sense of unity.
In Santa Maria in Solario we can especially admire the renowned “Cross of Desiderius” that offers all the charm of the Lombard civilization of which Brescia was one of the historical capitals.
A visit to Santa Giulia can be easily combined with that to the other museums of the town: the Museum of Ancient Arms, the Picture-Gallery and the Museum of Risorgimento, all of them having a very large collection of findings and relics.
