We left Udine and made our way to Brescia but had a stop along the way with thousands of others at Sirmione to check out the Castello Scaligero, a fortification built in the late 14th century by the Lords of Verona and is considered to be one of Italys best preserved castles. It was rather striking.

We then arrived in Brescia, the 2nd largest city in Lombardy. Its history dates back to Roman times. Our apartment was in a great location. We stepped outside our front door and turning right we had the statue of Giuseppe Garibaldi, the celebrated Italian General and a key figure in the unification of Italy during the 19th century, and then turning left, we had a 10 minute flat walk into the Old Town.

We ventured out on our first night and our first drinks were in Piazza Della Loggia. To our surprise not only did we have our drinks delivered , but also some “free food”. We were quite impressed.

The Piazza was surrounded by 16th century Venetian style buildings and the Astronomical Clock Tower dates back to 1546. The Palazzo del Loggia, or Town Hall was built between 1492 and 1570.

We then moved onto Piazza Paolo V1. Standing proudly side by side here are the Duomo Nuovo and Duomo Vecchio, or the new Duomo and the old Duomo, but more about these later! The setting sun had a magical effect on the buildings.

The next day we made our way up the hill to Brescia Castello which the Venetians expanded and fortified adding ramparts and a drawbridge. During the Napoleonic era it was used as a prison. Today it houses museums and is a public park.

Now back to those Duomos! In the afternoon we decided to visit both of them. The Baroque style Duomo Nuovo has the 3rd highest dome in Italy and is considered to be a National Monument. Construction began in the early 17th century and took over 2 centuries to complete. The interior was rather nice but nothing compared to the Duomo echoing where we ventured next.

The Duomo Vecchio was built at the end of the 11th century and is considered a rare and excellent example of “ round plain Romanic architecture”. We walked in and we were blown away! The 13th century frescoes were amazing. We also checked out the crypt which was part of the 8th century church. It was incredible and even more amazing it was free to enter.

We headed out for an aperitivi that evening and agin free food was delivered to our table along with our drinks. We love this place! That night our in house chef cooked us some typical pasta from the region, Brescian casoncello sometimes called handkerchief pasta because of the way it is folded. The filling was dried breadcrumbs, butter and cheese, with a great tomato sauce! It was yum, thanks Greg.

The next day we ventured up to Bergamo for a look and took the funicular up to the Old Town. We had breakie in the Piazza Vecchia, the main Square. Cafe del Tasso is an historical cafe having been in operation since 1476.

The piazza is surrounded by beautiful palazzos including the Palazzo del Podesta, a medieval building, and it stands beside the Torre Civica which stands at 52 meters high and chimes 100 times in the evening. Luckily we there in the morning. The Bergamo Cappelia was a striking building and built between 1472 and 1476 as a mausoleum and chapel for the commander in the Venetian armies. The historic public library ( thru the arch) was built in the 17th century.

The Basilica of Santa Maria has a Romanesque exterior and a baroque interior, magnificently covered with frescoes and artworks. Construction began in 1137 and was a “ vow to the Virgin Mary to protect Bergamo from the plague”. Hope it continues to work!

Later that day we sadly said goodbye to Jude and took her to Milan to catch her flight home. We certainly had a lot of fun together!

Next day we needed to check out some more places in Brescia Old Town, including heaps of churches. We came across the Roman Forum located in the heart of the city and is considered to be one of the most important Roman archeological areas in northern Italy. It includes the Forum, the theatre and a temple all dating back to the 1st century BC.

Then our church tour began and it began with a bang! The Church of St Cristo was quite plain on the outside. We then entered through the cloisters which were very peaceful, then we entered the church and…Wow!!!

It was built in the 15th century and is often compared to the Vaticans Sistine Chapel because of the frescoes that cover almost all the walls and ceilings. It was incredible and free.

The next stop was the Church of St Faustino and St Giovita and houses the remains of the city’s patron saints. Construction began in 1621 and completed in 1711. Again the frescoes ceiling was beautiful.

Word of warning, more stunning churches to come, in a later blog. Brescia has sooooooo many! That night Greg cooked some more castoncelli, but this time with a butter and sage sauce. Again yummy!

So that’s part 1 of Brescia, part 2 to follow hopefully in a few days!

It’s that time, time for aperitivi.

Still warm and we have had a little rain but nothing enough to stop us enjoying ourselves!

Greg’s knee is sort of holding up, actually doing better than what we thought.

lots of love

Greg and Rhonda.