Description of the attraction
The monastery complex of San Salvatore, also known as Santa Giulia and located in Brescia, has now been converted into a museum. It is famous for its architectural components, which include fragments of ancient Roman buildings and a significant number of buildings of the pre-Romanesque, Romanesque and Renaissance styles. In 2011, the complex was included in the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites in the nomination “Lombards in Italy. Places of Power (568-774 AD) . In addition, it is this monastery that is traditionally considered the very place where Desiderata, the wife of Charlemagne and the daughter of the Lombard king Desiderius, was held in exile after the dissolution of her marriage in 771.
San Salvatore was founded in 753 by Desiderius, the future king of the Lombards, and his wife Ansa as a convent. The first abbess was Desiderius' eldest daughter, Anselperga. After the Lombards were defeated by the army of Charlemagne, San Salvatore retained its privileges and even expanded its possessions. In the 12th century, most of the buildings in the complex were rebuilt or restored in the Romanesque style, and the chapel of Santa Maria in Solario was built. In the 15th century, another reconstruction took place, and at the same time dormitories were added to the monastery. Finally, in 1599, the church of Santa Giulia was erected.
After the invasion of the French into the territory of Lombardy in 1798, the monastery was abolished, and its premises were turned into barracks. The entire complex was in a deplorable state until 1882, when the Museum of Christianity was housed in it. However, large-scale restoration work, during which San Salvatore was carefully restored, was carried out only in 1966, when the Museum of Santa Giulia was created there.
Today the monastery complex includes several buildings. Basilica of San Salvatore itself, dating from the 9th century, consists of a central nave and two apses and stands on the site of an older church, which in turn was built on the foundations of an ancient Roman building from the 1st century BC. The bell tower, rebuilt in the 13-14th centuries, is decorated with frescoes by Romanino, and the interior of the basilica itself is decorated with frescoes by Paolo da Cailin Jr. and other masters of the Carolingian era. The above-mentioned chapel of Santa Maria in Solario, built in the 12th century, is in the shape of a square with a small lancet loggia. The second floor is decorated with scenes from the life of Christ.
The museum deserves special attention, which exhibits antique finds dating from the Bronze Age and the period of Ancient Rome. Among the exhibits of the museum are the famous bronze statue "Winged Victoria", a plan on which you can see what Brescia looked like during the time of Emperor Vespasian, a crucifix that, according to legend, belonged to King Desiderius, frescoes from Broletto (the old City Hall of Brescia), a statue of St. Faustina and the cycle of frescoes by Moretto da Brescia. Also, on the territory of the complex, you can see some fragments of ancient Roman buildings, on which the nuns once created greenhouses and greenhouses.
