As indicated by his last name, a mechanical engineer from Brescia was sent by the Senate of Venice to Crete in 1578 to take over the design and construction of the fortress of Spinalonga. He works on other fortifications as well, such as the acropolis (citadella) of Parma, which was his own creation, and in Corfu.

Bressani arrived on the island with precise instructions from the military leaders and the engineers of Venice to fortify the island's perimeter to exclude any possibility of invasion. He intensively studies his subject, makes systematic surveys, and develops numerous detailed plans and engravings. The enclosure, the construction he supervises, is well-organized from a defense standpoint, although it is never finished as the design changes.