Brescia

Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)

a city of north Italy, capital of the province of the same name, is beautifully situated at quadthe foot of the Alps, and is of a rilateral form, about 4 miles in circuit. Among its chief edifices are the new cathedral, a handsome structure of white the Rotunda, or marble, begun in 1604, old cathedral, the town hall (La Loggia), and the Broletto, or courts. The city contains a museum of antiquities, picture gallery, botanic garden, etc. Near the town are large iron works, and its firearms are esteemed the best that are made in Italy. It has also silk, linen, and paper factories, tan yards, and oil mills, and is an important mart for raw silk. Brescia was the seat of a school of painting of great merit, including Alessandro Bonvicino, commonly called Il Moretto, who flourished in the 16th century. The city was originally the chief town of the Cenomanni, and became the seat of a Roman colony under Augustus about 15 B. C. It was burned by the Goths in 412, was again destroyed by Attila, was taken by Charlemagne in 774, and was declared a free city by Otho I. of Saxony in 936. In 1426 it put itself under the protection of Venice. In 1796 it was taken by the French, and was assigned to Austria by the Vienna Treaty of 1815. In 1849 its streets were barricaded by insurgents, but were carried by the Austrians under General Haynau. It was ceded to Sardinia by the Treaty of Zürich, 1859. Pop. about 88,400. The province has an area of 1,845 square miles; pop. about 540,000.