Bianzano Castle

A lion rampant and an eagle with big talons grasping its prey represent the symbol of the ancient and noble Suardi family, depicted on the entry portal of Bianzano Castle.

The historical complex, dating back to the XIII Century, features a perfectly square plan whose diagonal lines indicate the cardinal points.

Located on a tableland overlooking the western side of the Cavallina Valley, the building allowed to control the north-western and north-eastern faces, from where the enemies could arrive: the road coming from the Seriana Valley across the Valle Rossa (the “Red Valley”) and the one connecting Bergamo with Lake Iseo and the Camonica Valley. It also provided a good view over Lake Endine and the Mount Torrezzo.

The numerical proportions and the symbols disseminated all over the castle lead one to think that, originally, it was a seat of the Templars, the knights belonging to the medieval religious order: would you like to learn more about it?

Several well-known proofs, along with some new ones, confirm the presence of the Templars.

The first one is in the emblem of Bianzano Municipality, featuring two symbols: a silver shell and the pilgrim’s staff, validating the fact that the village used to be a stopover for wayfarers and believers.

The Templars provided assistance to pilgrims, so they may have chosen this place as a sort of headquarter to control the upper valley. But there’s more: historians and enthusiasts have been examining the castle for a long time, discovering many interesting facts. 

First of all, 1,618: this is the golden ratio, also called “Phidias’ proportion”, obtained dividing the height by the base of the two portals situated in the Castle’s courtyard. This numerical rule was already theorized by the Greeks and carried on by Leonardo da Vinci, who probably applied it to the Last Supper.

Moreover, in Castel del Monte, Apulia, there seem to be the same archaeo-astronomical elements also found in Bianzano: the orientation towards the cardinal points, with the square plant’s four corners, perfectly sets the sun rays during solstices and equinoxes.

More in detail, during the equinoxes the light strikes a determined corner inside the building, while during solstices the points of incidence detect both length and height of the tower, the castle and the courtyard. On the other hand, the moon is able to adjust the castle orientation to the cardinal points with 10 degrees of difference.

Among the symbols, it is also interesting to know that the “flowers of life” we find in many Templar places of worship, along with the black and white lozenges, can hide the heaven-earth and light-darkness duality that’s typical of the Templar culture.

It looks like the mystery of Bianzano Castle is enclosed in the medal decorating the fortified tower’s vault, featuring some birds. They are actually crossbills: according to the legend, they tried to take the thorns off Jesus’s crown. The reference to the Templar cross is clear.

Out of curiosity

Every year, during the first weekend of August, the Castle hosts the historical re-enactment of a very important event: in 1367 Giovanni, a member of the Suardi family, married Bernarda Visconti, Bernabò’s daughter, ruler of the Duchy of Milan, receiving the castle itself as a wedding gift. 

After the restoration work carried out between the 60s and the 70s, the building is still in good conditions. It serves as the summer residence of its owners, while a couple of lodgers-keepers live here the whole year long, in the raised ground floor at the tower’s entrance.