Brescia Travel Guide

The news about the origins of Brescia are lost in the night of the times, trepassing in the legend: the theories about the identity of the founder are manifolds (Ercole, Troe or Tiras or Cidno, king of Ligurian, from whom the name of the hill Cidneo, at the doors of the town) while the origins of the name of the town Brixia are to seek in the domination of Galli Cenomani. In 49 B.C. it is roman town at all effects and lives some centuries of splendour, until at the ruin of the Roman Empire; followed the barbaric invasions, last of which that of the longobards that was established in the north Italy and made of Brescia one of their most important dukedoms. Their government was not wretched, but the strained terms with the Curch disembogued into war and king Desiderio tried an alliance with the frank, but, for all answer, Carlo Magno at stand of the papal troops besieged in 773 Pavia and Verona, forcing king Desiderio at the exile. The domination of the Frank lasted until at 888.
With the fall of the Holy Roman Empire begins for Brescia a difficult period, at the centre of the disputes between the Duke of Spoleto and the Marquis of Friuli. In 1090 is born the Common of Brescia, guelph, between the ghibelline commons and afterwards in continuous guerilla. The invasion of Federico I was the cause for which the commons decided for a truce and allied themselves, unfortunately without result. In fact, afterwards of the defeat of Milan, the other commons, between whose Brescia, made a promise of obedience, undergoing at terms of surrender that included the demolition of the wall and of the towers. Was in 1167 that, with an secret alliance, Brescia, Bergamo, Mantova, Cremona and Milan gave life at the battle of Legnano from that Federico Barbarossa came out defeated. After only ten years however Brescia should face Federico II and after 66 days of bloody siege the Emperor was surrendered. The successive decades were a continuous alternation of seizures of power from different rules until at the invasion of Arrigo VII in 1311. For Brescia was still years of internal battles and of passages of hand between that terrible is metioned the siege of Niccolò Piccinino, that reduced Brescia at the hunger, exhausted from the plague and almost entirely destroyed, but done not win, thanks also at the help of Venice.
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