Santa Giulia Museum

“Sparsa le trecce morbide

sull’affannoso petto,

lenta le palme, e rorida

di morte il bianco aspetto,

giace la pia, col tremolo

sguardo cercando il ciel.”
 
With these words Alessandro Manzoni aimed to celebrate Ermengarde, the Longobard princess repudiated by Charlemagne, and her tragic story. Whether it’s fiction or reality, this majestic monastery represents the perfect setting for evoking ancient and mythological facts, also because it stands on an extremely significant archaeologic site. The prestigious Santa Giulia Museum currently hosts two outstanding pieces: the Winged Victory and the Cross of King Desiderius. The first one is a big and refined bronze sculpture representing the Goddess of Victory. Napoleon was so impressed by its beauty that he wanted a copy of it, which can now be admired at the Louvre Museum.

Under a sky full of stars, on the other hand, there is the Cross of Desiderius, decorated with 212 precious stones, glass gems and cameos. 

Besides the monastery, the area also houses the basilica and the crypt of San Salvatore, dating back to the Longobard age, the Romanesque oratory of Santa Maria in Solario, the Choir of the Sisters and the XVI Century Church of Santa Giulia, with its cloisters.

Santa Giulia is the main museum of Brescia and takes up an area of 14 thousands square meters. It has 11.000 pieces including Celtic armours, Roman bronzes, Longobard relics, mosaics, frescos and grave goods.