Bienno, also known as the “Village of the Seven Towers,” still preserves four of the defensive structures typical of the late medieval period in nearly perfect condition.

These structures served primarily defensive purposes; the square-shaped walls were very thick, which reduced the living spaces and the number of windows facing the village.

These windows, in addition to providing a view of the village, served as entrances, thanks to ladders lowered from the window closest to the street.

This prevented potential external attacks, as there were no entrance gates that could be broken down; in dangerous situations, the tower’s inhabitants simply had to pull up the access ladders.

Once past the structure, continue left along Via Castello; upon reaching the top of the first hill, in the small square, Torre Mendeni stands among the new homes.

The facade features an entrance door on the ground floor and two windows, on the third and fourth floors, respectively. It is likely that no openings were originally planned on this side either, but they were added and enlarged later, when the threat of attack was no longer so pressing.

There is also a window on the first floor, framed in Simona stone, which serves to illuminate a room with a cross-vaulted ceiling frescoed with decorative swirl motifs.

The battlements at the top were added in the last century.

(The proposed itinerary is an excerpt from the research conducted by architects Giorgio Azzoni and Virtus Zallot and from the fourth volume of *Arte in Valcamonica* by Araldo Bertolini and Gaetano Panazza)