Brescia, Italy – Wed 8th to Thurs 9th Nov

After our delayed flight to Milan we finally arrived in to Brescia mid-afternoon. We checked into the hotel and then headed off to the Roman ruins. Since we were so late, G’s client meeting was moved to the following afternoon, so he was able to join me sightseeing. Brescia is a bit off the normal tourist route. It is about 40 mins by train from Milan to the west of Lake Garda. The monumental area of San Salvatore – Santa Guilia Monastery and Capitolium Temple Archeological area are part of the UNESCO World Heritage site: Longobards in Italy. Places of Power. On a previous visit to Brescia I had spent a lovely four hours exploring the Santa Guilia museum. It traces the history of the area through archeological pieces and actual buildings on the site. Laid out in chronological order from 4thC BCE to the 18th century. Last time I went, I didn’t make it to the Brixia Archeological Area so I was keen to explore that this time. The site includes the Capitolium (73CE), the remains of the republican temple (first century BCE) underneath, the museum with the winged victory and other bronzes and the Roman theatre.

Once we finished there I took G through to the Santa Guilia Museum which is on the same ticket, to see some of the highlights including the Roman era houses (1st and 3rdC CE), the choir of the nuns, the church of Santa Maria in Solario (12thC), small ivory casket (4thC) and the Cross of Desiderius (9thC).

By the time we finished there it was getting dark. We strolled back through town to our hotel. Passing through several lovely piazzas. In the main Piazza there are two churches side by side – the old cathedral and the new cathedral. We found a lovely Italian restaurant in a little side street.

The next day G went off to visit clients while I did some more sightseeing. This morning I headed to the castle.

About midday I went to the train station to catch my train to Bologna. The plan was to check in to our apartment and G would meet me later after he’d finished at the clients. All went smoothly and by the time G arrived I’d settled in and made a booking for dinner. An Italian restaurant Trattoria da Me recommended by the company we’d booked a cooking class with. We had a platter to start followed by tagliatelle al ragu. The food was simple but good.