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eligious, commercial, political or relating to the law. The
public buildings, used to overlook the decumanus
maximus, the ancient city’s main street. A section of the
street’s original paving is still visible today, and shares
the same route with today’s Via dei Musei, which
constitutes the southern boundary of the San Salvatore-
Santa Giulia complex.
The Republican Santuary
The most ancient religious building dates back to the
second quarter of the 1st century A.D., thus to
Republican times. Archaeological campaigns carried out
since 1823 to the present have made it possible to
define the building’s overall plan. The building
comprised four halls, flanking each other, covered with a
barrel vault and placed on a podium, each with its
independent monumental access. The interior of each
hall was decorated with hellenistic style frescoes, which
can be compared to the frescoes in Pompei showing a
transitional style, showing elements belonging to both
the so-called first and second style. The high quality of
these works suggests these were workmen possibly
coming from Rome itself or from the area surrounding
the Vesuvius.
The Capitolium
The Capitolium, built in 73 A.C., was dedicated to
emperor Vespasian and dedicated to the cult of the socalled
Capitoline Triad (Jove, Juno and Minerva).The
building is characterized by a high podium; the
prominent pronaos is conceived as a continuation of the
lateral portico which act as boundaries of the Temple’s
terrace, the same portica on the southern side, crossed
the decumanus maximus and stretched out this way to
surround the open space constituted by the Forum and
the basilica, the southernmost building in the Forum
complex.The Capitolium, whose architectural elements
belong to the corinthian order, was built using local
limestone; for the paving of the halls imported
polychrome marble was used. The resulting sectilia
floorings, work of great quality and luxury are visible in
the central and in the Western cell. The building was
excavated between 1823 and 1830; its elevation was
partly reconstructed and the Museo Patrio, the city’s first
museum, was placed inside.
The Roman Theater
To the east of Temple lie the remains of the Roman
Theatre, a building used for public spectacles. Here, an
early phase, dating back to the time of Augustus, was
followed by an enlargement during the Flavian period,
which went hand in hand with the erection of the nearby
Capitolium. The cavea held spectators’ seating, and
vaulted corridors to reach the various sectors, and was
built to ensure the hill behind acted as a support.
Between the cavea and the decumanus maximus the
frons scenae was built. This acted as the backdrop
against which the dramatic action unfolded; the lower
levels of the frons scenae, which must have been quite
imposing, still survive to this day thanks to a quantity of
architectural fragments and precious decorations, which
can be dated to the severan period (end of the 2nd
beginning of the 3rd century AD), when this part of the
building was modified and enriched.
After Rome
Except the Republican Sanctuary, which was
superseded by the Capitolium of 73 A.D., all the Forum
buildings remained in use probably up to the 4th century
A.D. As in the case of many other cities, Brescia looses
its function and importance and a long period of
degradation begins. The roman city has originally been
divided according to functions into different sectors, but
now this distinction disappears. As also occurred in the
San Salvatore-Santa Giulia area, here too the total
promiscuity of buildings, burials, and craftsmenlike
activities are in evidence. The single buildings had a
slightly different fate, which partly depended on their
original function and on their monumental form. The
signs indicating a change of function and use are mostly
visible in the western portico of the Capitolium.The
Theatre, on account of its less direct link to the pagan
religion and for its same shape was used to contain
large numbers of people at least up to the Late Medieval
period, and was used as a place for public meetings.
This public meetings area was however quite small
compared to the roman building’s size. The building’s
abandoned areas and neighbouring buildings were thus
deprived of their stone, marble and brick masonry. The
result of these demolitions are large