IN THE COUNTRYSIDE NEAR THE city of Brescia stands the Padernello manor, which, towards the end of the 1300s, was a simple defensive tower protected by a moat.

Starting in 1391, the structure became the property of the Martinengo, a family of mercenary soldiers who left their homeland of Bergamo during the 12th century to move to the outskirts of Brescia to serve the Duchy of Milan and, later, the Republic of Venice.