“Glad of fate Brescia gather me, Brescia the strong, Brescia the iron, Brescia lioness of Italy drunk in enemy blood.” These are the words in verse of the famous poet Joshua Carducci on the Lombard city, which owes its fame to the ten days of resistance to the Austrians during the Italian Risorgimento, specifically from March 23 to April 1, 1849.
Today Brescia is one of the most important cities in Lombardy, very popular with both students and workers. Brescia’s origins can be traced back to the Bronze Age, but the city’s importance began when it was the capital of the Cenomanian Gauls.
It owes its name to its imperial history, having been a Roman colony under the name Brixia. Over the centuries it has become one of the largest centers in northern Italy and is to this day the second most populous municipality in Lombardy after Milan. The city grew through the strength of its economy based on agriculture, trade, and also marble quarries and iron mines.
The city is frequented by students from all over Italy thanks to its university, founded in 1982 and divided into the Faculties of Medicine and Surgery, Engineering and Business and Economics.
If you are looking for a room or house for rent in Brescia, it is important to know the geography of the city, noting the merits and demerits of the main neighborhoods, as a starting point in your search. The city is divided into five wards, but since it is rather compact it is not worth straying too far from the center: so here is a brief guide to the main neighborhoods in Brescia where to find homes for rent.
Historical center
This part of the city offers fine buildings and all the amenities for an adequate social life, especially for young people who are interested in evening and nightlife. The central area offers services and stores as well as various entertainment attractions, including nightclubs, breweries, cinemas and more. For those who like to experience the city culturally, the center of Brescia boasts monuments, palaces, and museums (including outdoor museums) such as the San Giulia Museum, which hosts notable exhibitions.
Choosing accommodation in downtown Brescia will also allow you to walk to the university, as the campus is located in the central Piazza del Mercato.
Chiesanuova and Bresciadue
Choosing an apartment to rent in Chiesanuova or Bresciadue, two areas south of the historic center, is often budget-friendly. At the same time, these neighborhoods are quieter, there is easy parking (for those who use their cars every day), there is greater quiet and a higher density of green areas, and at the same time they are well connected to the center thanks to public transportation and the subway. For these reasons, these are two neighborhoods that are heavily traveled by young people.
Hospital/Marconi area
Choosing a rental in the hospital area is great for those attending the Faculties of Medicine and Surgery and Engineering, located in this very area. The Luigi Lucchini University College and the CUS Brescia baseball field are also located here.
Green neighborhood and composed mostly of cottages, prices rise accordingly. Sleeping here is great for those seeking quiet, tranquility and safety, and for those who want to walk to the faculty. On the flip side, it may be a little “too” quiet, and force one to rely on public transportation to get to downtown venues.
Medical or engineering students who prefer to live downtown will still be able to conveniently reach the faculty by subway, getting off at the Europa stop.
Carmine
Staying in the Carmine area means being at the center of nightlife. This district, which runs in close proximity to the historic center, west of the Castle and is bordered on the east side by the Department of Economics and Management, among other things, In recent years it has experienced a real boom: Arnaldo Square has in fact become the hub of Brescia’s nightlife, and the old neighborhood of immigrants and repurposed buildings has been the victim of exemplary redevelopment, leading it to become thesoul of the city.
Renting a house here is a must if you like to have fun at night: admittedly the neighborhood is not the quietest, but it is a necessary compromise to have fun and feel like you are at the center of the world. Corso Mameli, Via San Faustino, Via Porta Pile, and Via delle Grazie are the streets bordering Carmine, which is now literally overrun with students, artists, and even couples.
