Brescia
- For the Italian administrative area, see Province of Brescia
Brescia is a city in the region of Lombardy in northern Italy with a population of around 200,000. It is the second largest city in Lombardy, after Milan.
The city is the administrative capital of the Province of Brescia, one of the largest in Italy, with about 1,000,000 inhabitants. The ancient city of Brixia, Brescia has been an important regional centre since pre-Roman times and a number of Roman and medieval monuments are preserved, among which is the prominent castle.
The city is at the centre of the third-largest Italian industrial area, concentrating on mechanical and automotive engineering and machine tools. Its companies are typically small or medium- sized enterprises, often with family managements. The financial sector is also a major employer, and the tourist industry is important as well, given the proximity of Lake Garda, Lake Iseo and the Alps.
Sports
Brescia is the start and the arrival of the historical car race Mille Miglia that takes place every year in May. It is also the home of Brescia Calcio football club and Rugby Leonessa 1928.
Famous citizens
- Rothari or Rotari, King of Lombards and legislator
- Desiderius, King of Lombards
- Louis the German, Frankish Emperror and King of Lombards
- Arnold of Brescia, monk lived in the 12th century
- St. Angela Merici founded the Order of Ursulines in Brescia in 1535
- Niccolo Fontana Tartaglia, mathematician lived in the 16th century
- Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli, a great pianist of last century
- Emanuele Severino, one of most important living italian philosophers
- Pope Paul VI, aka Giovanni Battista Montini