The ancient BRIXIA part.2

Hello friends from Hive, Today I want to tell you about another little piece of my city, Brescia. Just today I went downtown to take care of some bureaucratic errands and I ended up in one of the most beautiful squares, Piazza Loggia. The square was built during the Renaissance, creating a closed space. In this way it became a true hub of city life, surrounded by porticoes and with a very wide open area inside. I also managed to treat myself to a typical Italian breakfast in one of the most beautiful cafés in the square: Il Caffè della Stampa.

Inside the square there are several buildings with remarkable architectural features. On the west side you can find the Palazzo della Loggia. It began to be built in 1492 in different stages, and it is one of the main buildings of the city as well as an important example of Renaissance architecture. As mentioned earlier, its construction went through several phases, since the works were repeatedly interrupted due to political and historical reasons. The façade is made of Botticino marble, a typical stone of the area used in many other buildings, arranged in two different orders: the first with large pillars, and the second with pilasters and wide windows.

Another building in the square is the Clock Tower, built around the mid-1500s. The building is famous for its astronomical mechanical clock, which is housed inside the tower. Its appearance vaguely recalls a temple, with its pillars and the tympanum depicting Cronos, the god of time. At the top there is a bell, struck every hour by two figures known as the “Màcc de le ure ” (“the Fools of the Hours”). This is one of the symbols of the city of Brescia, although to be honest, it is still very underrated.

After my short break in the square, I was heading back to my car when I noticed this church. From the outside it didn’t look like anything special, but I decided to step inside—and I was truly left speechless. Even though this is my city, I don’t actually live here but in the province, and whenever I come it’s usually for errands rather than sightseeing, so some buildings are still completely new to me. The Church of Santa Maria del Carmine was one of them, and it turned out to be a wonderful surprise.

Built around the late 1300s at the will of the Visconti family, and later remodeled towards the end of the 1400s, this church has a rather simple exterior: red bricks with some white marble elements, especially at the base. The entrance, however, is stunning, with a portal that blends different styles, from Baroque to Renaissance. The original old doors are still preserved inside. The interior is much richer, filled with decorations, frescoes, and large pillars that open up into three naves, with the central one leading towards a magnificent apse. The church holds an impressive artistic heritage in its fresco cycle, even though many of them have unfortunately been lost over time. The organ is also particularly fascinating, and I will definitely return on another occasion just to hear it being played. See you soon! Claere