During the Roman occupation and the alliance between Brescia and Rome, the Forum was the centre of business, political life and the fulcrum of religious life as well. The Capitolium Temple and the Basilica faced the square, while the other sides of the Forum3were enclosed by an arcade with a double order of columns. There were numerous shops opening off the arcade. Nowadays Roman remains, aristocratic palaces and old houses offer a remarkable scenografic effect.
The Capitolium Temple
The Temple was built by Vespasian between 74 and 73 A.D. at the north end of the Forum. Between the IVth and the Vth centuries the temple was partially destroyed in a dreadful fire. It was found in 1823, but it is only since 1939 that it has assumed the present structure. The three cellae house a museum, where there are numerous epigraphs, altar stones, tombstones and objects found in the city and its province.
The archeological items of the Roman Museum, such as fragments belonging to the temple, bronzes (the most famous of which is "Winged Victory"), collections of Greek and Etruscan pottery, Roman glassware and household items are now in the monastic complex of Santa Giulia, the City Museum.
Palazzo Martinengo.
The palace faces the Forum and Via Musei.
It comprised several buildings, which nowadays house art exhibits and a cultural institute. The façades looking onto the square, completed in 1663, has two bossed portals with Martinengo-Cesaresco's coats of arms, while the XVIIth century façades looking onto Via dei Musei has an imposing portal with two eagles that support a balcony.
In the courtyard there are a statue of Cesare IV Martinengo and a fountain of Neptune.