Brescia
Brèsa (Lombard) | |
|---|---|
| Città di Brescia | |
     .jpg) Clockwise from top: night view of Brescia with the New Cathedral and the Tower of Pégol (right); castle of Brescia; Capitolium (UNESCO Heritage); panorama of Brescia; Old Cathedral; and Piazza della Loggia | |
 Flag  Coat of arms | |
Nicknames:
| |
| Motto: Brixia fidelis ("Brescia the faithful") | |
Location of Brescia  | |
  Brescia Location of Brescia in Lombardy  Brescia Brescia (Lombardy) | |
| Coordinates: 45°32′30″N 10°13′00″E / 45.54167°N 10.21667°E | |
| Country | Italy |
| Region | Lombardy |
| Province | Province of Brescia (BS) |
| First settlement: Celtic settlement: Roman settlement: | 1200 BC 7th century BC 89 BC |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Laura Castelletti |
| Area | |
| • Total | 90.3 km2 (34.9 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 149 m (489 ft) |
| Highest elevation | 874 m (2,867 ft) |
| Lowest elevation | 104 m (341 ft) |
| Population (1 January 2019)[2] | |
| • Total | 200,423 |
| • Density | 2,200/km2 (5,700/sq mi) |
| Demonym(s) | Bresciano Bresà (Brescian dialect) Brescian (English) |
| Time zone | UTC+1 (CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+2 (CEST) |
| Postal code | 25121-25136 |
| Dialing code | 030 |
| Patron saint | Sts. Faustino and Giovita |
| Saint day | 15 February |
| Website | www |
Brescia (Italian: [ˈbreʃʃa] , locally Italian: [ˈbreːʃa]; Lombard: Brèsa, Lombard: [ˈbrɛsɑ, ˈbrɛhɑ, ˈbrɛsa, ˈbrɛha]; Latin: Brixia; Venetian: Bressa) is a city and comune (municipality) in the region of Lombardy, in northern Italy. It is situated at the foot of the Alps, a few kilometers from the lakes Garda and Iseo. With a population of more than 200,000, it is the second largest city in Lombardy and the fourth largest in northwest Italy. The urban area of Brescia extends beyond the administrative city limits and has a population of 672,822,[3] while over 1.5 million people live in its metropolitan area.[3] The city is the administrative capital of the Province of Brescia, one of the largest in Italy, with over 1,200,000 inhabitants.
Founded over 3,200 years ago, Brescia (in antiquity Brixia) has been an important regional centre since pre-Roman times. Its old town contains the best-preserved Roman public buildings in northern Italy[4][5] and numerous monuments, among these the medieval castle, the Old and New cathedral, the Renaissance Piazza della Loggia and the rationalist Piazza della Vittoria.
The monumental archaeological area of the Roman forum and the monastic complex of San Salvatore-Santa Giulia have become a UNESCO World Heritage Site as part of a group of seven inscribed as Longobards in Italy, Places of Power.[6]
Brescia is considered to be an important industrial city.[7] Metallurgy and production of metal parts, machine tools and firearms are of particular economic significance, along with mechanical and automotive engineering. Among the major companies based in the Brescia metro area there are utility company A2A, automotive manufacturer OMR, steel producers Lucchini and Alfa Acciai, machine tools producers Camozzi and Lonati, firearms manufacturers Fausti, Beretta and Perazzi, gas equipment manufacturers Sabaf and Cavagna, etc.
Brescia is home to the prestigious Mille Miglia classic car race that starts and ends in the town.
In the arts, it was nicknamed Leonessa d'Italia ("The Lioness of Italy") by Gabriele d'Annunzio, who selected Gardone Riviera (nearby on the shores of Garda Lake) as his final residence. The estate he built (largely thanks to state-sponsored funding), il Vittoriale, is now a public institution devoted to the arts; a museum dedicated to him is hosted in his former residence. Brescia is also the setting for most of the action in Alessandro Manzoni's 1822 play Adelchi.
The province is known for being the production area of the Franciacorta sparkling wine, as well as the main source of Italian-produced caviar. Brescia with her territory was the "European Region of Gastronomy" in 2017 and the "Italian Capital of Culture" with Bergamo in 2023.[8]
- ^ "Superficie di Comuni Province e Regioni italiane al 9 ottobre 2011". Italian National Institute of Statistics. Retrieved 16 March 2019.
- ^ Bendinelli, Thomas (2 February 2019). "Brescia supera i 200 mila abitanti Del Bono: sarà una città più viva". Corriere della Sera.
- ^ a b "Urbanismi in Italia, 2011" (PDF). cityrailways.it (in Italian). Archived from the original (PDF) on 10 November 2011. Retrieved 2 August 2014.
- ^ "Italia langobardorum, la rete dei siti Longobardi italiani iscritta nella Lista del Patrimonio Mondiale dell'UNESCO" [Italia langobardorum, the network of the Italian Longobards sites inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List]. beniculturali.it (in Italian). Archived from the original on 30 October 2016. Retrieved 14 May 2014.
- ^ "THE LONGOBARDS IN ITALY. PLACES OF THE POWER (568–774 AD). NOMINATION FOR INSCRIPTION ON THE WORLD HERITAGE LIST" (PDF). unesco.org. Retrieved 14 May 2014.
- ^ ""Brescia: description of goods" on Italialangobardorum.it". Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 14 May 2013.
- ^ Meneghello, Matteo (27 November 2014). "Brescia remains Italy's industrial capital". italy24.ilsole24ore.com. Archived from the original on 5 March 2021. Retrieved 31 July 2015.
- ^ Bandirali, Federica (13 July 2015). "Anche Brescia nella Regione europea della gastronomia". Corriere della Sera (in Italian). Retrieved 13 June 2016.