The centre of Brescia holds two thousand years of layered history within a few hundred metres. Along the old Roman main street, the Capitolium temple raised under Vespasian still lifts its columns above the forum, with a Roman theatre beside it, and a short walk away the monastery of San Salvatore and Santa Giulia spreads its cloisters and churches over the site of Roman houses. The monastery was founded in the eighth century by Desiderius, the last king of the Lombards, and his wife Ansa; their daughter Ermengarda, rejected by Charlemagne, is said to have ended her days here.
Together these monuments form part of the World Heritage listing for the Lombards in Italy, and the Santa Giulia museum is one of the most rewarding in northern Italy. Inside are Roman mosaics, the extraordinary jewelled cross of Desiderius, and the bronze Winged Victory found in the Capitolium in 1826, recently restored and displayed in its own temple room. On the hill above the city, the castle on the Cidneo looks out over the plain and the foothills of the Alps.
To a motorcyclist, Brescia means one thing above all: the Mille Miglia, the legendary road race that started and finished here from 1927 to 1957, sending cars racing to Rome and back on public roads. Its spirit lives on in the vintage event that still leaves the city every year, and the museum dedicated to it sits in an old monastery on the eastern edge of town. Riding in the city is the usual urban grind of traffic lights, buses and limited-traffic zones in the centre, so park and walk. Out of town, Lake Iseo, the vineyards of Franciacorta and the Valtrompia and Valcamonica roads into the mountains are all within easy reach.
Brescia is a big city with fuel and services everywhere. The food is hearty Lombard fare: casoncelli pasta with butter and sage, polenta, and spit-roasted meats, with Franciacorta sparkling wine to wash it down. The monastery and museum deserve at least two hours, and summer heat in the city can be oppressive, so a morning visit followed by an afternoon ride to the lakes makes a good plan.