Bienno – Exploring the most beautiful towns of Italy
August 5, 2025
Since discovering the “Borghi piu belli d’Italia” when we visited Correno Plinio, we have been very keen to visit more of the 313 villages given the accolade (meaning “the most beautiful villages of Italy”), so we decided on a short break to Bienno. We chose Bienno as it is still in Lombardia (Lombardy) where we are based. However, there are 26 Borghi piu belli in Lombardia and this is only the 4th we’ve visited. So much to explore still…
What can I tell you about Bienno?
It’s in the Val Comacina in the Lombardian region of northern Italy, and sits at 450 meters above sea-level surrounded by mountains.
It’s a small medieval town with iron-work and water at the heart of its historical past, the iron forges being powered by water. It’s very clear as throughout the town there are iron tools displayed on walls, as sculptures and around a lot of doors. There’s also a mill with a water wheel that now houses a museum about the towns iron-making past
Things to do
The statue of Cristo Re and the Maddalena Hill
One of the most notable things as we approached Bienno was the huge gold statue of Christ on top of a hill. This is Cristo Re (Christ the Redeemer) and the sanctuary of Maddalena. It’s worthy of a climb up the hill for the views alone, but also the small Maddalena chapel and the statue itself are beautiful to see. Unexpectedly there is a vegan restaurant at the top too, Biorristoro Cristo Re. Not just something you happen upon, you need to know it is there and you need to book. Having done the research we were booked in for an evening of vegan. See below for our experience.
Wandering the streets of Bienno
As I previously mentioned, we love just wandering and seeing what we can find. In Bienno, around every corner there were displays of iron-work and plaques showing the industry. We were also delighted with the myriad of fountains that we came across, not surprising as Bienno is known as a town of water. There is also the forge museum (steel industry and all) and the mill museum (town of water and all), so much to explore…
Whilst we were wandering we had a random invitation from a local. We were admiring an old wooden door at the end of a narrow alley and on walking past a lovely old man asked if we would like to see inside. It turns out it was his house and he was so proud to show us inside and tell us about his home. I really had to put my “Italian ears” to use and concentrate hard, but I gleaned that he had lived there a long time and had made some of the stunning carvings that were inside. It’s always such a privilege to receive a personal and warm welcome from a local and totally at random (Can you imagine that in England?, “Hello, random person. Would you like to see inside my house?”…er, no).
It just goes to show the kindness and friendliness that is still present. A reminder not to lose faith in people.
A hike to the Gufo
One of the recommendations from our host was a walk to the Gufo. The what now? The gufo, translation – owl. Apparently on top of the hill overlooking Bienno there was a giant wooden owl with a fabulous viewpoint. This was a steep walk through the forest above the town, but on the way we were delighted with fabulous wooden sculptures, my favourite of which was ‘The King’, a larger than life sculpture and I think he looks so peaceful and part of the forest.
Eating in Bienno
Being “not-a-touristy town”, there are only a few restaurants. But on the other hand, being “mostly-locals”, the food is traditional and very good. What did we discover?
Firstly, apperativo. There are a few “bars”, but our favourite was definitely the one above. So so pretty, lovely nibbles, cocktails and beer on tap with a good reminder to re-order another beer when it’s getting low….panic line. Love it.
Local dish – Casunsei – kind of like large ravioli, filled with butter, local cheese and sage. Home-made so obviously no calories, did I mention I like sarcasm?
La Vecchia Fontana (the old fountain)
We chose this for our wedding anniversary. Although described as a “pizza” restaurant, the couple who own it use the phrase “Insieme nella vita e lavoro” – together in life and work. This phrase spoke to me. Since taking our ‘it-seems-to-never-end’ sabbatical, Clark and I are always together, to the point that we joke that the only time we’re apart is when we’re in the bathroom. Perhaps our phrase would be “together in everything we do” Insieme nel tutto facciamo – It always sounds better in Italian.
Back to the food at the restaurant. As well as what they describe as “I’m amazing, not perfect” pizzas, they have a traditional menu too, although everything on it was “new” for us. We couldn’t resist the local Biennese Torta di Rane (yes you read that right….frog pie). Delicious, tastes just like chicken.
Bioristoro Cristo Re
Everything I read about this said it was the whole experience and not just the food. This is our first Vegan restaurant and is unusually set in the grounds of a hill-top monastery. Atop the hill is a giant gold statue of Christ (Cristo Re meaning Christ the King) and the obvious thing that people go there to visit. However, tucked away is the restaurant, with lovely views looking down over the town of Bienno….and a swing in the middle of the restaurant. Ok, what should one expect from this:
- A set menu. There are no choices, just sit back, relax and enjoy the unique dishes put in front of you.
- No English translation. My Italian is good enough to understand almost everything. I had to look up a couple of “food” words I was unsure of, but we got there.
- Home-made ferments and pickles. I adore miso and this lady makes her own, as well as fermented cabbage, pickled nuts and vegetables and kombucha.
- Expect to be very full. Although it’s only plant-based, there were about 5 or 6 different courses. I was honestly very full at the end….make that extremely full. OK, stuffed.
You may have some surprise guests. There are 2 “restaurant” cats who are very happy to enhance your evening with the pleasure of their company.- Make the call. The only way to book is to phone…in Italian. Or ask someone to do it for you. This is not a rock-up-and-hope restaurant.
- The total surprise – At the end of our meal we were taken for a tour of one of the old chapels .This is part of the “experience” and our host delighted in telling us (with the help of one of the other guests who could speak English) the history of the monastery and particularly the painted frescoes in the chapel.
A short drive from Bienno...
Val Comacina mountains
As I mentioned, Bienno is in the Val Comacina mountains. If you know us, you know we’re at our most joyous when we are hiking, especially if it involves magnificent mountains.
We drove the short distance to Rifugio Bazena. I’ll be honest, we didn’t have much of a map and went there on spec, but after parking we saw a map and picked a route. I’ve also discovered an app that seems to have quite good coverage of walking paths in Italy, something we’ve struggled with before. The app is Gaia, and using this we were able to confidently find our circular route. The walk was full of dramatic mountains, far reaching views , wild meadows and a collection of strangely formed rocks. It culminated with a drop down to the Passo Crocedomini and the very popular rifugio there, which served hearty bowls of Goulash and Stroganoff….very welcome after our mountain hike. Once again, words are not enough and I need photos to really show the stunning-ness (did I make that word up?).
Castle at Breno
We passed this town when we drove to Bienno and the castle, standing atop a small steep hill, was so spectacular we couldn’t resist a visit. It’s only a 10 minute drive so a total no-brainer for a small trip. We parked in the town and walked up the steep cobbled path to the castle (it was a bit slippery…those cobbles were shiny!). It was very much worth the short walk, the castle surrounded by the mountains made for a stunning setting.
Where next?
We’re loving these Borghi piu belli di Italia. There are so many to visit. However would you believe while we stayed in Bienno, we noticed there was another on Lake Iseo…Lovere. As I have probably already exhausted anyone reading this post, I have decided to do Lovere separately. Apparently ALL YOU NEED IS LOVEre.
Beautiful villages, not sure about the ‘frog’ pie ! Happy Anniversary x
Happy Anniversary you two sweethearts. Great writing and fab photos too. (See what I mean about the best legs!) Xx