Departure is planned at 8am in the morning, and the bus will be waiting at the cross between Paleocapa Street and Jacini Street.

Arrival at Brescia and guided walk through its beautiful city centre.

Visit of Brixia, the archaeological area of Roman Brescia, the largest urban archaeological area in northern Italy, inscribed since 2011 on the World Heritage List as part of the serial site Longobards in Italy. Places of Power (568-774 AD) together with the San Salvatore-Santa Giulia complex. This area had long been abandoned, but was rediscovered in the early nineteenth century and may now be admired in its original splendour, with the assistance of immersive augmented and virtual reality. The Republican Temple was built in the first century BC with innovative design and lavish decoration, and still today visitors marvel at the magnificent and splendidly preserved wall paintings in the IV cella, the only surviving monumental example of Republican Roman painting in northern Italy. 

The Capitolium, at the centre of a terraced sanctuary, was dedicated to the cult of the Capitoline Triad. Within its chambers the original features may still be seen: flooring in coloured marble slabs, altars in Botticino limestone and fragments of grandiose cult statues, concrete reminders of ancient rituals. The visit ends with an evocative installation featuring narrative voices and images that transport you back to a bygone age.

Capitolium | © Fondazione Brescia Musei

Next to the Capitolium stands the Roman Theatre, which dates to the Augustan period and is connected to the temple by the Chamber of Pillars. Visitors enter the cavea – a spacious area that rests in part on the slope of Cidneo Hill – where spectators once sat, bringing to mind ancient performances.

Roman Theather | © Fondazione Brescia Musei

We continue the tour with the visit of Brixia Light Box at Palazzo Martinengo Cesaresco, a suggestive and fascinating itinerary where you can see 3D images of different monuments shown in significant parts of the archaeological site. The route descends through a strata of different eras ending in a big hall that was originally the cellar of the Palazzo.

Brixia Light Box | © Province of Brescia

Before moving to Museo di Santa Giulia we enter the Piazza del Foro with a stop at Roman Basilica which preserves the remains of Brescia Roman origins. It was founded in the 17h century. In this period the building was renovated, and were also reorganised all the architectural elements from the Middle Ages that covered the then degraded Roman remains, still clearly recognizable on the palace façade. The systematic archaeological excavations carried out between 1993 and 1998 in the surrounding area brought to light large excerpts of  the indoor and outdoor marble floor decorations of the Roman basilica and of the Forum from the period of Augustus.  

Lunch at Santa Giulia Museum.

Transfer to Sirmione, the pearl of Lake Garda and guided walk through the famous peninsula till Grotte di Catullo. Inside the archaeological park, within a vast oliveto-grove, are the remains of a large Roman Villa. The building, built between the end of the 1st century B.C. And the beginning of the 1st century A.D. In an excellent panoramic position, at the extreme tip of Sirmione peninsula, is the most important example of a high-class residence in the whole of northern Italy.

Grotte di Catullo | © Fotostrasse

The arrival to Milan is planned by 8.00 PM.