A rampant lion and a large-clawed eagle zeroing in on prey stand out in the coat of arms of the ancient and noble Suardi family, painted on the entrance portal to Bianzano Castle.
Dating back to the 13th century, the complex has a perfectly square floor plan, with the diagonals oriented toward the four cardinal points.
Placed on a plateau and in a dominant position on the western side of the Cavallina Valley, it allowed control of the northwest and northeast slopes from which potential enemies arrived: the road coming from the Seriana Valley via the Red Valley and the road connecting Bergamo with Lake Iseo and the Camonica Valley.
It also offered excellent views of Lake Endine and Mount Torrezzo.
A series of numerical proportions and symbols scattered throughout the building suggest that the castle was originally a seat of the Templars, the knights of the ancient Christian-medieval religious order: aren’t you curious to find out more?
The presence of the Templars is corroborated by some known clues, to which more have been added in recent times.
The first sign can be found in the coat of arms of the municipality of Bianzano, where two symbols appear: a silver shell and the pilgrim’s staff, clear references to the fact that the locality was a resting place for wayfarers and the faithful.
It was the Templars who provided assistance to the pilgrims and may have chosen this center as a focal point for controlling the upper valley.
But there is more: historians and enthusiasts have been studying the castle for a long time and look what they have discovered.
First of all, the 1.618: the golden number, also known as “Phidias’s,” which is obtained by dividing the height by the base of the two portals in the Castle’s courtyard.
A figure already theorized under the Greeks and carried forward by Leonardo da Vinci, who would apply it to the Last Supper.
Second, it appears that at Castel del Monte, Apulia, there are archaeo-astronomical elements also found at Bianzano: the orientation toward the 4 cardinal points with the angles of the square plant precisely adjusts the sun’s rays during solstices and equinoxes.
In more detail, during equinoxes the light strikes a precise interior angle, while during solstices the points of incidence locate the width and height of the tower, castle, and courtyard; the moon, on the other hand, corrects the orientation of the castle to the cardinal points with 10 degrees difference.
Among the symbols, you should know that the “flowers of life,” found in many Templar places of worship, and the black and white lozenges may conceal the dualism of heaven-earth and light-darkness, typical of Templar culture.
It seems that the mystery of Bianzano Castle is contained in a medallion decorated with birds on the vault of the male tower.
These are cruciferous birds that, according to legend, attempted to remove the thorns from Christ’s crown: again, the reference to the Templar cross is immediate.
Curiosities
Every year, on the first weekend of August, the castle is the site of a historical reenactment concerning a very important event: in 1367 Giovanni, a member of the Suardi family, married Bernarda Visconti, daughter of Bernabò, regent of the Duchy of Milan, receiving the castle itself as a gift.
After restorations around 1960/70, the building is in good structural condition; it constitutes a summer residence of the owners and year-round is inhabited by a tenant/custodian couple on the mezzanine floor at the entrance to the tower.