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It’s also home to an excellent museum detailing the history of the Mille Miglia, a 1,618 kilometer (around 1,000 Roman miles) motor race on public roads around Italy, from Brescia to Rome and back. It has not one, but two cathedrals, located side-by-side on the Piazza Paolo VI, and the pretty, Venetian-style Piazza della Loggia is exactly that: it dates from 1433, when Brescia asked Venice to protect it from the grasp of the noble - and powerful - Visconti family of Milan. So Brescia is ancient and historically important. The Capitolium of Brixia, dating from 73AD, the surrounding Forum, and the 8th century monastic complex of San Salvatore-Santa Giulia are all Unesco-protected sites, and the latter is considered one of the seven Places of Power of the Longobard (Lombard) Kingdom.

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Bresciaįounded over 3,200 years ago in the foothills of the Alps only a few kilometers from the Garda and Iso lakes, Brescia has the best-preserved Roman structures in northern Italy. Leave the city by the Ponte di San Giorgio in the early evening, cross the lake, and watch the sunset over the city, and you’ll see why artists from Monteverdi to Shakespeare were inspired by this gem of Lombardy. The buildings - the Ducal Palace, the Castello San Giorgio, the Cattedrale di San Pietro and so many more - are sturdy, satisfying structures.

These were created in the 12th century as defensive measures and, from a distance, give the city an almost haughty look: Mantua knows it’s something special.Ĭonsistently ranked as one of Italy’s top cities for quality of life, wandering its streets you can absolutely see why. Using their money and influence, the Gonzaga dynasty made Mantua into one of the finest cities in Italy.Īrchitecturally, culturally, and artistically significant, the cityscape is a collection of Renaissance buildings surrounded by three artificial lakes. Mantua knows it’s something special - Shutterstockįrom 1328 to 1708, parts of northern Italy were ruled over by the House of Gonzaga, a princely family that had their seat of power in Mantua.

It fits with the city itself: new and old, separate but together, creating a strong, interesting identity. Their stadium is a bizarre mix of styles, from the 1920s facade of the west stand, to the futuristic north stand.

You can look out over the plains below and to the Alps in the middle distance, before exploring its many churches, chapels, museums, and excellent little shops selling bread, cakes, wine and cheese, all made locally.īergamo is also home to Atalanta, a soccer team that for the past few seasons has been bloodying the noses of the traditionally successful Italian clubs, with their swashbuckling style attracting new fans if you fancy experiencing the passion of Italian soccer, you could do a lot worse than catch a game here. This would be a mistake, as Bergamo, settled high on a hilltop, is a lovely town.īy bus from the airport, you wind your way up towards the Città Alta (the Upper Town), a walled, fortified core of narrow, hilly streets and lop-sided squares. Lots of visitors, particularly when visiting from somewhere in Europe, will arrive at Milan Bergamo Airport and head directly from there to Milan.

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