Archaeological Area of the Capitolium

The itinerary through the ancient town offered by Roman Brescia’s archaeological area is one of the most significant and best preserved in north Italy. The area comprises the Republican era Roman sanctuary (1^st century BC), the Imperial era remains of the Capitolium temple (AD 73) with 19^th century museum additions, the Winged Victory statue plus some of the other ancient bronzes, and the Roman theatre (1^st-3^rd century AD).

Beneath the Capitolium temple lie the remains of a previous temple dating to the early decades of the 1^st century BC. These were first identified in 1823, and investigated between 1956 and 1961, then extensively from the 1990s onwards. The structure consisted of a row of four large rectangular chambers, each with an independent entrance, with a podium in front and access through a columned portico (pronaos). It stood on a terrace overlooking the decumanus maximus, now Via dei Musei. The interior of each chamber has an unusually well preserved high quality fresco; in general, these correspond to Hellenistic models executed by Roman painters. This monument is unique in the archaeological landscape of northern Italy and was created by expert central Italian craftsmen; their involvement in the construction of a building in Brescia demonstrates the city’s adherence to Roman cultural models in the years immediately following the granting of Latin rights in 89 BC.

The archaeological area houses the Winged Victory, an exceptional 1^st century AD bronze sculpture that was the subject of a detailed interdisciplinary study promoted by Brescia Council and Brescia Museums Foundation between 2019 and 2021, with conservation treatment carried out at the Opificio delle Pietre Dure in Florence. The Winged Victory is now located in the eastern cell of the Capitolium, in a setting conceived by Spanish architect Juan Navarro Baldeweg to enhance the appearance of the statue, highlighted by the monumental architecture and luminous backdrop.