Palazzo Martinengo da Barco, historical seat of the Art Gallery, reveals the sumptuous beauty of its long history which has its roots in the 16th century until the end of the 19th century, with the architectural renewal of Antonio Tagliaferri. Gift to the city of Count Leopardo Martinengo da Barco, since 1908 the building has housed the civic collections, formed thanks to the generous gift of Count Paolo Tosio and enriched over time through numerous acquisitions.

In a historical journey, which places the paintings alongside wonderful works of decorative art, we start from the 14th century and, passing through examples of absolute fame such as the Blessing Christ and the Angel by Raffello Sanzio, we discover the richness of 16th century Brescian painting , with paintings by Vincenzo Foppa, Moretto, Romanino and Savoldo, reaching the very human season of Giacomo Ceruti with his pitocchi and concluding with the large commissions by Francesco Martinengo da Barco, Camillo Brozzoni and Paolo Tosio, including two monumental canvases by Francesco Hayez and a sculpture by Canova.