Comune di Brescia tourism website: useful information about what to see and where to go.

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Tags : capitolium

The winged Victory

Brescia, Vittoria alata

It is a feminine figure, slightly turning her body to the left; she is wearing a cloth pinned on her shoulders (kiton) and a mantle (himation) wrapped around her legs.
The statue was realised with the technique known as investment casting and is composed of at least 30 parts cast separately and later soldered together. Just like in portraits, the finish touch is given with pointed tools that define traits neatly. With the technique of damascening, silver has been woven to her hair. 
It must have been created in the second half of the 1st century AD by a professional workshop specialised in bronze art in the north of Italy.
The position of the figure, with a leg slightly raised and the arms projected out, can be explained with the presence – in its original form – of some attributes that helped with the identification of the subject. The foot probably rested upon the helm of Mars, the god of war, and the left arm probably carried a shield, also supported by the flexed leg. On the shield were carved with the right hand the name and res gestae of the victor (the Romans used to portray the goddess of Victory with these characteristics.)

The Capitolium and the Roman Forum

Capitolium

The temple was built by Vespasian in 74 A.D., as the partly restored dedicatory inscription on the pediment shows. The capitolium site had a terrace on three sides with the temple in the middle and two lateral rows of arcades stretching down towards the Forum.

Piazza del Foro

Piazza del Foro, a rendering
When Brescia was under Roman rule, this square was the centre both of religious and political life.  The Capitolium temple, prominently situated at the north end, had an arcade with a double order of columns, as can be seen from the remains of the arches on the former ground level.  The Basilica (the law courts) was situated on the south side: remains of this edifice can be seen incorporated into the nearby houses in Piazza Labus.
The magnificent Piazza del Foro was traversed by the “Decumanus Massimus” (nowadays Via dei Musei) which ran from Bergamo to Verona.
The Church of San Zeno in Foro faces onto this road. It has a small churchyard enclosed by railings with statues of intertwined dolphins; inside the church a collection of paintings deserves attention.
 
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