Tempio Capitolino (Capitolium)

Dominating the area of the Roman forum, the Capitolium is the principal temple of ancient Brixia and the centrepiece of Brescia's archaeological park. Rebuilt under Vespasian in 73 CE atop an earlier sanctuary, it preserves coloured marble floors, votive altars and the famous bronze Winged Victory within walls that have been a museum since 1830.

Why it matters

Dedicated to Jupiter, Juno and Minerva, the Capitolium was Brixia's principal temple. The standing temple was dedicated in 73 CE under Emperor Vespasian and was built over an earlier sanctuary on the same podium. The temple preserves original first-century geometric marble flooring. The eastern cella contains the bronze Winged Victory, found walled up inside the temple in 1826 and returned to display after conservation by the Opificio delle Pietre Dure. Beneath the temple is a four-hall Republican sanctuary of the early first century BCE, with Hellenistic-style frescoes described as unique in northern Italy. Since 2011, the Brixia archaeological area and the monumental complex of San Salvatore–Santa Giulia have been included in the UNESCO World Heritage serial property "The Longobards in Italy. Places of Power".

What to notice

The temple rises on the podium of an earlier sanctuary, linking two phases of Brixia's religious quarter. The opus sectile floors, patterned with coloured marble, survive in place, as do Botticino stone altars and fragments of cult statues. The central hall carries epigraphs from the antiquarian collection assembled when the Museo Patrio opened here in 1830. The eastern cella presents the Winged Victory within a display designed by architect Juan Navarro Baldeweg. The Republican sanctuary below has frescoes depicting fluted columns and polychrome marble. Botticino marble from nearby quarries recurs throughout the temple.

Context and history

The temple's biography spans two millennia. Vespasian’s building of 73 CE succeeded earlier religious structures, including the four-hall Republican sanctuary of the early first century BCE. In the Middle Ages the temple was buried under rubble that slid down from the Cidneo Hill, which is precisely why its interior survived. After rediscovery in 1823 and subsequent excavation, the site was reconstructed and adapted for the Museo Patrio, opened in 1830 as the founding collection of Brescia’s civic museums. The Winged Victory, found in 1826 inside the temple walls, became the city's archaeological icon and was restored between 2018 and 2020 in Florence before returning to the cella. The temple reopened to the public in 2013 after earlier restoration campaigns, and in June 2023 the UNESCO Corridor connected the archaeological area with the Santa Giulia complex.