Bergamo and Brescia have always been twin cities; their history has been intertwined since they were founded, marking the beginning of a three-thousand-year journey undertaken side by side.

In the 6th century, with the Longobardic wave sweeping down the peninsula, the Roman era gave way to the Middle Ages. Under the Longobards, the two cities became duchies until Desiderius, the last king, was defeated by Charlemagne in 774.After going through the communal age and passing under the Visconti dominion, Bergamo and Brescia came to be a part of the glorious Republic of Venice in the 1420s.

They remained Venetian until the Napoleonic era, and then dealt side by side with the vicissitudes of the Republic and the Kingdom of Italy, the Austrian dominion and the adventure of the Risorgimento, until joining the Kingdom of Italy together in 1861.
Progressing hand in hand through contemporary times, they crossed the finish line of 2023 which sees them as Italian Capital of Culture.

Several of the wonders you can visit in Bergamo Brescia are the result of this history. In particular, we are proud to introduce you to important sites preserved in the heart of the two cities, so valuable that UNESCO has acknowledged them as World Heritage Sites.

Since 2011, Brescia has been included in the renowned World Heritage List with the serial site “The Longobards in Italy. The Places of Power (568-774 AD)”.

This acknowledgement has been bestowed upon two important places: the San Salvatore-Santa Giulia Monastic Complex and the Capitolium Archaeological Area, which, precisely for the Bergamo Brescia 2023 initiative, are connected by the recently inaugurated Unesco Corridor, a walk of almost one kilometre which unites them in a single pedestrian route open to the public free of charge. Together with six other monumental complexes scattered throughout Italy, they bear witness to the importance of the Longobardic people and the prominent role they played in the period between the Classic era and the Middle Ages.

You might recall the sad affair of Ermengarda, a bride repudiated by Charlemagne, who found refuge in the Brescian monastery, as narrated by Alessandro Manzoni in Adelchi. The unfortunate young woman was the daughter of Desiderius, who was the duke of Brescia before becoming king.
It was precisely in 753 that Desiderius commissioned the building of San Salvatore, a women’s monastery at the head of which he placed another daughter, Anselperga, and which is now one of the most important examples of Longobardic religious architecture.Soon the place became one of the symbols of the power of the monarchy and the Longobardic duchies, so much so that in 763 the monastery church was consecrated by no one less than Pope Paul I.

The monastery that can be visited today is larger than the original, as it is the result of expansion works which took place over time. The result of a process that led the church to be incorporated into the complex dedicated to Saint Julia, in honour of the remains of the saint that Desiderius himself brought here.

That is why countless historical and artistic memories await you there, layered one over the other, recounting the various phases and functions that this place has performed over the centuries, from the early Middle Ages to the 1980s, when it was designated as the City Museum.
Not your ordinary museum, in this place you may discover all these layers and more, one by one. You will travel on a journey through time inside a 14,000 square metre exhibition area housing over 11,000 works.

You will start with the prehistoric finds and then move on to the buildings that still exist today with their opulent decorations and invaluable furnishings.
In addition to the original core of the basilica of San Salvatore, you must not miss the impressive frescoes of the Choir of the Nuns, nor the Church of Santa Maria in Solario which houses the Cross of Desiderius, one of the most exquisite works of goldsmithing you will ever see.
Then it will be fascinating to take the route that passes amongst the foundations of the Roman houses, which formed a residential quarter, now known as the Ortaglia domus.

While remaining in the Roman period, adjacent to the San Salvatore-Santa Giulia complex, you may discover yet another unique site: the Capitolium area, northern Italy’s largest Roman archaeological site.
Starting here, the city’s ancient core, the point where the cardo and decumanus met, you can discover Brixia.

Your gaze will most likely be captured by the Capitolium, or Temple of the Capitoline, which together with the theatre and forum represented the centre of the city’s religious, political and economic life.
The temple itself gives us its founding date, 73 AD, in the era of Vespasian: the inscription on the pediment tells us so.
The structure has a classical layout, with three cellae and the unmistakable colonnade. It was dedicated to the triad Jupiter, Juno and Minerva and ceremonies and sacrifices were held there.
You will also instantly recognise the theatre, owing to the hemicycle shape typical of Roman theatres.

It is surprising to think that this important complex has only been brought to light in relatively recent years. The excavation works, in fact, date back to the 1880s.
Several Roman bronzes were also found during the campaign. Amongst these stands out Winged Victory for its majestic beauty, a bronze statue almost two metres high dating back to the 1st century AD, too fascinating not to immediately become an emblem of the city.

Now, after an important restoration, you may admire it right there inside the Capitolium. The experience will be even more impressive due to the attentive installation project.
Beneath the Temple of the Capitoline, the structures of the Republican Sanctuary, dating back to the 1st century BC, have been partially preserved. Go down inside it and discover the fresco decoration, surprising for its degree of preservation and quality, with white columns, faux marble polychrome slabs and reproductions of fine drapery: an absolutely unique combination of elements.

Visiting this area, you will walk through veritable symbols of Roman culture thanks to one of Italy’s most significant archaeological routes.
Finally, traces of the early medieval phases also abound, taking take you back to the age of the Longobards and completing the circle of this captivating UNESCO site.

The story of inscribing Bergamo’s Venetian Walls on the UNESCO World Heritage List begins with a hug. Not just any hug, but a Guinness World Records hug.
In July 2017, more than 11,500 people participated in a record-breaking initiative by lining up along the six-kilometre perimeter of the Walls and embracing each other.

The Walls of Bergamo Hug Relay, which took place in 2017, reinforced the inscription of this heritage site of ours on the List for 2017.
UNESCO then effectively accepted the candidature, making it truly fitting to say “there is strength in numbers”.

The Walls of Bergamo are part of the “Venetian Works of Defence between the 16th and 17th centuries: Mainland Domains – Western Domains of the Sea”, along with five other sites spread out over Italy, Croatia and Montenegro, all territories that were part of the Venetian Republic.

To support its expansion and protect its power, the latter had a constant need for defence. All the more so in lands such as Bergamo, a border outpost, the last bastion of the Republic towards the west.
Bergamo was also an important trade crossroads, then as now: all the more reason to find a way to defend it. Therefore, between 1560 and 1561, the decision was made to fortify the city by building an artillery-proof wall.
Although the perimeter was laid out in three months, it would take thirty years to complete the construction work.

The walls were completed in 1590, with eleven bastions, five platforms, five gates, thirty-two bartizans, one hundred cannon mouths and two gunpowder magazines. Between 8.7 and 20.88 metres high, they are an imposing work and, fortunately for our fellow citizens of that period, never served the purpose for which they were built.
For more than four centuries they have enclosed the city on the hill, Città Alta, the Upper City, preserving it and making it a world unto itself. A fascinating world that communicates with the outside through its gates.

During the era of the Venetians, caravans of merchants from afar, Veneto-area leaders, artisans and artists who came up from the hamlets below and travellers of all sorts passed through here. Today, people continue to stream through them, admiring and photographing them.

The San Giacomo Gate is the most spectacular: built in white marble, it is the ideal place from which to enjoy a unique view of the city. Still, you mustn’t miss the others: The Sant’Agostino Gate with the adjacent former monastery complex, now a university facility; the San Lorenzo Gate, also known as the Garibaldi Gate, in memory of when the Hero of Two Worlds passed through it; and the Sant’Alessandro Gate, built on the site of a basilica of the same name, of which almost no trace remains after it was demolished to make room for the Walls.

And the fifth gate? Known as the Gate of Succour, it was the last escape route in the event of a siege. Because of this function it was meant to be inconspicuous, so it has the featureless appearance of an ordinary door.
Today, the Walls are a special place, a destination for Sunday walks, picnics in springtime, and summer evenings spent in good cheer. They are a privileged terrace from which to look out over the plains, which, from there, appear as a handkerchief. If you look hard in the distance, as far as the eye can see towards the horizon, you can identify the peaks of the Alps and on clear days, make out the outline of the Apennines.