From 29 October 2022 to 29 January 2023, the Museum of Santa Giulia in Brescia presents the exhibition “ The city of the Lion. Brescia in the age of municipalities and lords " , a review that through 120 works investigates for the first time a fundamental historical phase for the constitution of the identity of the city and its territory, examining a chronological period starting from the second half from the 12th century , when the first traces of the municipal civic institutions appear in 1426, the year of the dedication of Brescia to the Republic of Venice.

First significant museum appointment of the Bergamo Brescia program. Italian Capital of Culture 2023 , the exhibition aims to raise citizens' awareness of its past through the analysis of a historical period presented to the general public for the first time in a compelling story built on largely unpublished or little-known materials.

An era marked by very important transformations in which the city creates its shape and identity from an architectural point of view, fixing the center of gravity in the square overlooked by the town hall and the cathedrals, and also on the political side, affirming its primacy in the territory. Exploring the origin and evolution of those elements that have forged its character, the birth of some civic symbols that have come down to our days will be investigated: from the rampant lion coat of arms, a true urban identity emblem made famous by Carducci who associated it with the heroism of the martyr city of the Ten Days, up to the civic cults of Saints Faustino and Giovita, of the Holy Crosses and of the Virgin who have a central position in the civic devotion of medieval Brescia and still rhythm the calendar of city festivities.