Chiesa dei Santi Faustino e Giovita

The church of Saints Faustino and Giovita stands on Via San Faustino in Brescia. Dedicated to the city's patron martyrs, it combines medieval origins with a richly decorated baroque interior shaped by monastic and civic devotion.

Why it matters

The church preserves the close relationship between Brescia and its protectors. Their legendary intervention during the siege of 1438 became an important subject in civic religious imagery. The adjoining monastery's Benedictine history also influenced the church's altars and painted decoration.

What to notice

The two-storey Botticino-marble facade includes statues of Faustino and Giovita beside the portal and bishops Onorio and Antigio above. Inside, serliana openings articulate the three aisles. Lattanzio Gambara's Nativity and Romanino's processional banner represent sixteenth-century painting. Giandomenico Tiepolo's presbytery decoration depicts the patron saints with Benedict and Scholastica in heavenly glory.

Context and history

A predecessor was rebuilt in the ninth century, followed by a Romanesque church in the twelfth. A new campaign began in 1622; the facade was completed in 1711. Fire damaged the presbytery in 1743, leading to the later painted scheme. The monastery was suppressed in 1797 and subsequently adapted to secular uses.