The Castle of Brescia, built on the top of the Cidneo hill, is one of the most fascinating fortified complexes in Europe and is the best-preserved fortress in northern Italy.
Built in the fourteenth century, it is one of the main symbols of Brescia.
The entrance is from the large monumental door, built during the Renaissance period, it is surmounted by the Lion of St. Mark.
Historical research has identified that the first settlements of this site, dating back to the Bronze Age between the twelfth and tenth centuries BC, were intended for worship.
During the fourteenth century, during the Visconti domination, the Keep was built for the residence of the captain of the garrison, the defense towers and some covered passages.
The fourteenth-century part is introduced by the Tower of the prisoners and the drawbridge that leads to the Keep.
In the fifteenth century, in the Venetian period, the defensive structures were adapted to the use of firearms.
At 1509 the Venetians were defeated by the French army, which occupied the city and the castle. In 1512 the Venetian army regained control over Brescia.
In 1796 Napoleon’s army occupied the city and used the fortress as a barracks and prison, in the same way they did and the Austrians who also used it in 1849 to attack Brescia during the Ten Days.
After the Unification of Italy, the Castle lost all military function becoming, from the second half of the twentieth century, a place of culture and leisure.
In the Castle of Brescia there are also the Luigi Marzoli Museum of Arms and the Museum of the Risorgimento Lioness of Italy.
