Welcome to the birthplace of Pope Paul VI

The palace that saw the birth of the future Pope and saint, Giovanni Battista Montini, belonged to the Lodron counts, the Brescia branch of the important family of transalpine nobles, who lived in Concesio before the 15th century and remained there until the mid-18th century. In 1830 the palace was purchased by Dr. Gaetano Montini and was then inhabited in 1857 by his son, Dr. Lodovico Montini, grandfather of Giovanni Battista Montini, who married the Brescian Francesca Buffali.Later the family moved to Brescia because Lodovico had a job at the Spedali Civili. In the house of Concesio the family met during the Easter and summer periods. After the death of Francesca Buffali in 1921 the house became the property of Dr. Giuseppe Montini, uncle of Saint Paul VI, who in turn passed it to his son, the engineer Vittorio Montini. Before his death (1997) he donated this property to the Opera per l'Educazione Cristiana (Work for Christian Education) of Brescia so that the memory of Saint Paul VI, his "dear cousin,” would be maintained. His wish was met with the construction of the “Paul VI” Study Center inaugurated in 2009 by Pope Benedict XVI. From then onwards, the Montini House, which was the birthplace of John the Baptist, has been made accessible to pilgrims after some work.