Historic village of Bretto

The village of Bretto is located just north of Cornello and consists of two groups of houses, Bretto Alto and Bretto Basso, surrounded by meadows and woods, at the center of which is the church of St. Ludwig of Toulouse. Bretto has linked its history to that of a branch of the Tasso family: the Tasso di Bretto who settled there in the 14th century, breaking away from the original Tasso del Cornello stock. The village still bears tangible signs of the family's presence. These can be seen in the stately mansion at the entrance to Bretto alto, which belonged to the family on which a number of frescoes have been painted including the Tasso coat of arms, the Church of San Ludovico di Tolosa granted in juspatronage to the family, and the old Tasso mansion in Bretto basso, in which the Tasso coat of arms is still visible in the center of the main facade. The family's presence in Bretto ceased when, at the end of the 18th century, the last descendants of the branch settled permanently in Bergamo and sold all the property they owned in the village.