Thirteenth-century castle in the province of Bergamo, northern Italy, believed by researchers to have served as the Italian headquarters of the Knights Templar. Its walls encode celestial alignments matching those found in Nolan's Cross on Oak Island.
About This Site
Bianzano Castle is a 13th-century fortification in the province of Bergamo in northern Italy, perched on a hilltop overlooking the Cavallina Valley. Researchers believe the castle served as the Italian headquarters of the Knights Templar during the 13th century. The structure is notable for its geometric precision: archaeoastronomer Professor Adriano Gaspani has demonstrated that the castle's external walls are aligned with the rise and set of the Cygnus constellation and oriented toward the star Arcturus. The castle's interior contains carved symbols including an eight-pointed star that Gaspani identifies as Polaris in medieval iconography, a form used to design octagonal church structures and for celestial alignments. The precision of these astronomical references has led researchers to conclude that the castle was designed by individuals with advanced knowledge of celestial navigation and geometry.
Connection to Oak Island
In Season 11, Rick Lagina, Doug Crowell, Alex Lagina, and Peter Fornetti visited the castle with Emiliano Sacchetti and Professor Gaspani. Gaspani revealed that the castle's external walls align with the rise and set of the Cygnus constellation and point toward the star Arcturus, the same celestial references he had identified as encoded in Nolan's Cross on Oak Island. He concluded that whoever designed Bianzano Castle belonged to the same cultural environment as whoever placed Nolan's Cross, directly linking the Italian Templar headquarters to the geometric layout of the Oak Island monument.
Inside the castle, Doug noticed an eight-pointed star that Gaspani identified as Polaris in medieval iconography. Emiliano then presented Gaspani with the Cremona Document and asked him to consider the navigational devices it describes, particularly the Abetor. Gaspani demonstrated a reconstruction he had built, showing how this tool could guide a vessel across the Atlantic on a fixed route and could also have been used to lay out Nolan's Cross. The demonstration provided a direct mechanical link between medieval Italian Templar navigation and the physical features found on Oak Island.
Fieldwork Notes
Visited during Season 11 by Rick Lagina, Doug Crowell, Alex Lagina, and Peter Fornetti, guided by Emiliano Sacchetti and Professor Adriano Gaspani. The team documented celestial wall alignments (Cygnus, Arcturus) matching Nolan's Cross, an eight-pointed Polaris star, and Gaspani's reconstruction of the Abetor navigational device from the Cremona Document.
