A citizen of the Republic of Venice at the time when the Serenissima ruled over our territory, Giambattista Tiepolo is amongst the most important painters of the18th century.
With a clear and breezy style, he created works with a strong theatrical impact, influencing much of European art.

2023 sees Bergamo and Brescia united in a single Italian Capital of Culture, with the aim of shining new light on the work of the great master.

The spark was ignited in Verolanuova, on the occasion of the restoration of two important paintings. And if, from here, an encounter with Tiepolo arouses the desire to discover more, your curiosity will be easily satisfied.
The capital is rich in artistic testimonies bequeathed by the painter, with precious paintings and engravings that together make up La Via del Tiepolo.

Not far from Brescia, halfway between the Po and the Basso Garda is Verolanuova, cradled within the plain and certainly worth a visit.

Strolling along the streets of this town with its medieval and Renaissance character, you can admire beautiful monuments and historical buildings, with the Basilica di San Lorenzo being a must-see.
Here, for over three hundred days, a team of professionals from Bergamo and Brescia was involved in a once-in-a-lifetime adventure – the restoration of the two largest paintings ever made by Tiepolo.

Thanks to their exceptional work, the splendour of these two artworks has been restored for art lovers and anyone else wishing to admire them.
These are the Raccolta della Manna and the Sacrificio di Melchisedech, two imposing masterpieces, each 10 metres high by 5.5 metres wide, so practically the size of a tennis court.

But that is not all. To make the experience even more thrilling, an ad hoc structure has been installed so you can appreciate the works by following a path that will take you nine metres up in the air.
You can come face-to-face with angels and soldiers, musicians and children, biblical characters and commoners, whose every detail you can admire.

Framing this precious treasure is the exhibition Tiepolo Scomposto.  Be involved in musical and artistic events, conferences and show-cooking, up until the final Masquerade Ball on 27th May.

In Lonato is a special place, the Casa del Podestà, the 15th-century seat of the Venetian representative during the centuries of rule.  The building forms part of an extraordinary monumental complex, topped by a grandiose fortress.

In the house that is today a museum, the Fondazione Ugo da Como has set up an exhibition titled “Scintillanti di Vita e di Spontaneità” (“Scintillating with Life and Spontaneity”), which will accompany us throughout 2023.
You can admire some valuable works on paper signed by Tiepolo. There are eleven etchings from the Capricci cycle, an expression of the Venetian artist’s great creative flair and a preparatory watercolour for the fresco in the Chiesa dei Gesuati in Venice, which has never before been exhibited to the public.

In Calvagese, the MarteS (Museo d’Arte Sorlini) celebrates Tiepolo with an exhibition of Luciano Sorlini’s private collection, one of the largest in Italy dedicated to Veneto and Venetian art.
Here, you will find three extraordinary paintings by Giambattista Tiepolo and his son Giandomenico. Moreover, thanks to the exhibition pathway, you can get to know the works of Giambattista Piazzetta and Sebastiano Ricci, thus discovering the soil in which the great master’s painting is rooted.

In Brescia, the Museo Diocesano has organised the rich exhibition of “Giacomo Ceruti and Sacred Painting in Brescia – From Ricci to Tiepolo”. The highlight of the exhibition is the Baptism of Constantine from the church of Folzano, one of the most prestigious sacred works that our territory has boasted since the 18th century.

In the Basilica dei Santi Faustino e Giovita, you will then find the grandiose work of Giandomenico who, probably based on a design by his father, frescoed the presbytery. You are greeted by an apotheosis of saints, expanded by two side panels.  Then in the Studiolo dell’Abate, you can admire a decorative cycle by Giandomenico.

In the fabulous Franciacorta, make a stop at Cellatica. Here, in addition to tasting the wine of the same name, you can keep within the theme by admiring the painting of Bacchus and Ariadne.

The painting is housed by the Fondazione Paolo e Carolina Zani along with other works by Tiepolo that you can view.  The Fondazione also houses a second painting, the striking portrait of an old man with a long beard and rich robes, named Testa di Vecchio.

A few more kilometres to the west and you reach Bergamo. Tiepolo worked in the city within the historic geographical region of Orobia in the 1730s, at the invitation of the Bergamo people from nearby Milan, to embellish with his art one of the city’s most important sites, the Colleoni Chapel.
About ten years later, he was also commissioned the monumental altarpiece that you can admire in the city’s Duomo (Cathedral), depicting the Martyrdom of St John, Bishop of Bergamo.

Instead, in a small, somewhat hidden church dedicated to the Holy Saviour, is a painting of St Joseph with Child.

The Accademia Carrara, the city’s rich picture gallery, also preserves three preparatory sketches, models thanks to which you can discover the early stages of the work on an equal number of paintings.

For the last leg of our journey, we invite you to venture just beyond the city into the beautiful Val Seriana. Direction Rovetta, at the foot of the Pre-Alps.

In this municipality, the Chiesa di Ognissanti contains a large canvas, almost four metres in height, depicting the Madonna in Glory Venerated by Apostles and Saints. It is also known as the Quadro del Paradiso and, thanks to careful restoration, you can now fully appreciate its particular chromatic richness, enjoying the same light that Tiepolo captured in his day.

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