ITINERARY
BIENNO
Church of Santa Maria Annunciata
The Church of Santa Maria Annunciata in Bienno is located in the historic center of the village. With its high spire bell tower with mullioned windows, the facade embellished by the portal in Simona stone and white marble and the rose window above, it marks the transition from the Gothic to the Renaissance style. The church was built in the 14th century on the remains of previous buildings; the exterior has a plan with a single nave with a roof and facade with a gabled profile and a loggia leaning against the counter-façade. It is the church of the inhabitants of Bienno, sensitive to the preaching of the Franciscans and to the devotion to the Virgin Mary. The interior of the church is divided into three bays and a presbytery and preserves numerous frescoes, created at different times by several artists.

Scenes from the life of the Virgin Mary (1541 ca.)
In Bienno, in the church of Santa Maria Annunciata, there is one of the best-known pictorial cycles by Romanino, the last work in Valle Camonica, after Pisogne and Breno. Here the artist from Brescia frescoed the walls of the presbytery around 1540 with scenes from the life of the Virgin. On the right wall the scene of the Marriage of the virgin and on the left the Presentation of Mary in the temple. Also, in this work by Romanino the faces present in the scene have a “village” appearance, as if all the citizens of Bienno were present at the wedding ceremony.
Info and opening hours
- Via Santa Maria, Bienno
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From April 1st to October 31st
Every day 08.00 – 21.00
From November 1st to March 31st
Every day 08.00 – 18.00
Free admission