Piazza Paolo VI or Piazza Duomo

Also known as the Piazza delle Due Cattedrali, Piazza Paolo VI is the other beautiful square in Brescia, elongated and rectangular in shape, where major civil and religious buildings of the city stand, above all the Palazzo del Broletto, with its Torre del Pegol (Torre del Pegol) dating from the 12th-13th centuries, and the two cathedrals: the circular medieval Duomo Vecchio, and the Baroque Duomo Nuovo with its dome, the third tallest in Italy.
The square is closed to the south by the 20th-century Palazzo Negroboni. Opposite the Broletto, the early 19th-century palazzo is Neoclassical in style with two large central Ionic columns, and the Casa dei Camerlenghi dates back to the 12th century with 15th-century mullioned windows. There are also two fountains.

Palazzo del Broletto

Located on the eastern side, the Palazzo del Broletto was the seigneurial palace in the Middle Ages. It is the oldest in the city, with its loggia and the municipal tower of the Torre del Pegol (12th-13th centuries) 54 metres high.
It was the seat of the communal institutions, developing around a central courtyard, built in different phases between the medieval period and the 17th century with the northern portico.
Today it houses administrative offices, the prefecture and a police station.

The Duomo Nuovo

The Duomo Nuovo, or summer cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta, was built over more than two centuries, from 1604 to 1825. It displays a large Baroque facade in white marble, Baroque and Rococo, and a dome 80 metres high which is the third tallest in Italy. It was built on an ancient Palaeochristian cathedral.
The three interior naves are divided by large columns and pillars supporting the dome.
It preserves numerous works of art, including a 15th-century wooden crucifix, beautiful paintings including works by Moretto, Romanino and Palma il Giovane, or the tomb of Sant’Apollonio, a Renaissance monument dedicated to Paul VI.

Duomo Vecchio

The Duomo Vecchio, or Rotonda, which dates from the 12th century, a remarkable example of a circular medieval building. In particular, in the Chapel of the Holy Crosses it preserves the treasure of the same name with relics and sacred objects. The Romanesque Crypt of San Filastrio is located beneath the chancel (see the article dedicated to the Duomo Vecchio).

Information

• Wikipedia articles: Piazza Paolo VI (in Italian)
• Tourist portals: www.bresciatourism.it
• Municipality website: www.comune.brescia.it

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