Off A4 on Route 45bis, 48 km east of Bergamo. A bronze Victory, 2 m tall, and other classical treasures in the civic museum confirm this industrial city’s Roman origins. In the same street, Via dei Musei, another building displays Dark Age finds. Marble is the monumental building material, a snow-white variety. A mayor of Brescia persuaded the Italian government to use Brescia marble for the flamboyant Victor Emmanuel monument in Rome, which ensured full employment and the mayor’s re-election for life. See the Loggia, a Renaissance palace, and the Rotonda, a 12thC duomo with 8thC crypt. The 13thC Torre del Popolo soars above it. Enjoy the stimulus of a busy swarming city while wandering at random from old church to old church, admiring local schools of painting.