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Bienno - Via Dei Tornanti, 4
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Known as one of Italy’s “Most Beautiful Villages”, Bienno (or Bién) is a charming town in Val Camonica with a genuinely ancient history. The earliest settlements in the area date back to the Bronze Age, and evidence of that period survives in the “preda dell’altare”, a boulder bearing millennia-old rock carvings. The Valley’s development during the Roman era was driven by the abundant iron deposits found in the mountains surrounding the settlement, which sustained a flourishing economy for centuries.
This Roman settlement later transformed into a splendid and prosperous medieval village, largely thanks to the arrival of the Benedictines in the tenth century, who introduced the use of mills. This proved a crucial turning point for Bienno’s economy, as the mills harnessed the waters of the Grigna stream and generated the energy needed to power the heavy hammers used for forging iron, supporting blacksmiths and carpenters. Over time, the town fell under Venetian rule, a period during which elegant residences were built and metallurgical activities expanded to produce weapons and various utensils.
Today, Bienno is a splendid medieval village that captivates visitors with its stunning natural surroundings and its array of historic palaces and museums, frescoed churches, and excellent local gastronomic products. The town is also renowned for being home to two important spiritual centres: Colle della Maddalena, where a gold statue of Christ the King stands, and the Hermitage of Saints Peter and Paul, a true sanctuary of peace surrounded by greenery.
The town of Bienno has managed to preserve traces of the various historical periods and successive rulers; many signs of its long past have survived and become woven into the town’s historical heritage. Walking through Bienno, you can now stroll along narrow lanes that all lead to the central square, considered the heart of the village, where the Church of Santa Maria stands. After being named in 2008 as “One of Italy’s Most Beautiful Villages”, the town also received the Orange Flag award from the Touring Club.
Built at the end of the sixteenth century, the Parish Church of Saints Faustinus and Jovita stands in the upper part of town and has retained much of its original structure. Externally, the religious building features a portal in Sarnico sandstone and two niches housing marble statues of Saints Faustinus and Jovita.
Inside, there is a single nave with barrel vaults that is elegantly decorated with friezes, flowers, cherubs and statues. The ceiling contains panels painted by Mauro della Rovere, known as il Fiamminghino, while the large altarpiece depicting the martyrdom of Saints Faustinus and Jovita was created by Giovan Battista Pittoni.
The Church of Santa Maria Annunciata stands in the lower part of the historic centre and houses works of great value created between the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries by various artists, including Giovanni Pietro da Cemmo and Girolamo di Romano, known as il Romanino. Inside, the building features a single frescoed nave with images of the Saints, whilst the high altarpiece was created by il Fiamminghino in 1632 and depicts the Annunciation.
Bienno is also known as the “Village of Seven Towers” because it once had a defensive structure comprising a city wall and seven square-based towers with very thick walls. Four of these towers have survived to the present day and have helped us understand the town’s defensive system.
Entry to the town was not through gates but via access stairs that were lowered from the tower windows. In times of danger, inhabitants simply needed to raise the stairs to prevent enemies from entering. The towers you can still admire walking through the village are: Torre Avanzini, Torre Rizzieri, Torre Mendeni and Torre Bontempi.
For many years, Bienno’s economy was based on forge work that produced weapons and other items. A major boost to this sector came with the introduction of water mills that supported the work carried out in workshops, forges and foundries throughout Val Grigna. In particular, the operation of the mills at Bienno was powered by the Vaso Rè, an artificial canal in Val Grigna (part of Val Camonica) that runs through the municipalities of Prestine, Bienno, Berzo Inferiore and Esine before joining the Oglio.
Bienno still has an active mill, known as the Bienno Mill, which has now been converted into a museum where you can see and learn how it works. The visit begins outside, where you can watch the water’s force drive the rotary motion of the wheel, which powers the shaft called the “Erbor”. This, in turn, drives a wooden wheel called the “Pulley”. You then move on to the two millstones—one upper and one lower—that grind the grain. At the end of the visit, there is also a small shop where you can buy flour produced here and other food items.
The Fucina Museo appears to date from the seventeenth century and, together with the Bienno Mill, forms the Ethnographic Museum of Iron, Arts and Popular Traditions of Bienno. The museum was built on the site where two forges originally stood, which belonged to the Morandini “Stefani” family and later passed to the Panteghini family and then to the Municipality of Bienno in 1985.
Opened in 1988, the museum now consists of two different spaces that allow visitors to understand how work in a forge was carried out. On one side, a forge has been preserved in its original state with the tools used in processing and some examples of finished products. In another area, there is a more exhibition-style space with information panels, signboards, videos and artefacts that illustrate the activities of extracting and working metal and wood.
The Ecomuseum of Vaso Rè is located within the Adamello Park, in the territory between Bienno and Prestine. Here you can follow a historical and ethno-anthropological route created with information panels, information cards, as well as tools, objects, implements and artefacts from times past. There are also explanations about how the craftspeople of the area and their families once worked and lived. All of this is considered part of the historical and cultural heritage of this territory, which the area seeks to preserve and promote to future generations.
The palace we see today is the result of restoration work commissioned by the Simoni family and carried out in the nineteenth century on a building dating from the fifteenth century. Inside the building you now find the Pinacoteca dell’Arcivescovo Morandini, with a collection of over 40 works donated by the archbishop to the town. On the first floor, there are also antique furnishings and various paintings depicting members of the Simoni family, and several wooden statues dating from the fifteenth century depicting the Death of Christ, the Annunciation and the Archangel Gabriel.
The Vaso Rè is a wooden sculpture created in 2019 on the occasion of the 29th edition of the Bienno Craft Fair by three Russian sculptors, Bair Kirill, Nazarov Sergei and Gnennyy Andrey.
Standing four metres tall, the work was placed alongside the course of the Vaso Rè stream to commemorate the strong bond that has always existed between this waterway and the town of Bienno.
The sculpture depicts an elderly bearded man wearing a hat and smoking a pipe, positioned near the watercourse and seemingly watching the life of the village with interest.
In the following map you can see the location of the main places of interest mentioned in this article.
Bienno is a small village with a welcoming and hospitable atmosphere that boasts several accommodation options. Most solutions are bed and breakfasts and small hotels in the town centre, which allow you to be close not only to the main tourist attractions but also to bars and restaurants.
Another alternative is to stay at the Hermitage of Saints Peter and Paul, which has hotel facilities and restaurants completely immersed in nature.
The best way to reach Bienno is certainly by car.
From Milan, you can take the A4 motorway (towards Venice) as far as the Seriate exit, then follow the S.S. 42 towards Lovere – Passo del Tonale until the Bienno/Esine exit.
From Verona, you can take the A4 motorway (towards Milan) to the Brescia west exit, then continue along Provincial Road 11 and then along the S.S. 42.
Those leaving from Trento can travel along the S.S. 42 Passo del Tonale as far as the Bienno/Esine exit.
What's the weather at Bienno? Below are the temperatures and the weather forecast at Bienno for the next few days.
Bienno is a medieval village nestled in Val Camonica, surrounded by the peaks of Concarena and Presolana within the province of Brescia. The town lies approximately 70 km from Brescia and the Tonale Pass, and 120 km from Milan.
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