Mel di Borgovalbelluna, the village balanced between impressiveness and essentiality: from the magic of Zumelle Castle to the 100 varieties of apples

Mel in Borgo Valbelluna (BL):

In Mel you can admire Zumelle Castle, the best preserved in the Valbelluna. It was the ‘twin’ of Castelvint Castle, destroyed after a battle: a Byzantine fortress that stood only 300 metres away, but separated by the gorge of a stream. The relationship between these two fortifications is the origin of the name: Castrum Gemellarum, then Zumellarum, finally Mel by contraction. Zumelle Castle lends itself as a location for various cultural events, shows and entertaining initiatives, such as suggestive themed dinners, rooms can be booked and it also offers nature trails for excursions to discover the magic of the area in its entirety.

The noble palaces of the historic centre and buildings from different periods, including the 18th-century parish church, a fine example of the Palladian tradition, the 16th-century Palazzo Zorzi, seat of the Town Hall, frescoed in the first floor hall by Marco da Mel with episodes from Orlando Furioso, the ancient church of Mel, dedicated to Our Lady of Sorrows, of late 15th-century origin the 17th-century villa Fulcis with the adjoining Fulcis palace from the following century, surrounded by its park, villa Luzzati, the small Fulcis temple, villa Granelli and, further on, villa Migliorini (today Tonon) and palazzo Barbuio.

Every hamlet of Mel has its own little church, such as the San Teonisto Church (early 16th century) in the hamlet of Farra and near Zumelle Castle the little church of San Donato, of Lombard origin.

The Palazzo delle Contesse, which houses the Archaeological Museum, displays grave goods from the Paleovenetian necropolis;

From Mel, you can also set out to admire the Zumellesi Pre-Alps: among dairy farms and malghe (shepherd’s huts), ridge trails, beech forests, waterfalls and bivouacs.

Mel also offers events aimed at promoting local products. Palazzo Fulcis (now Guarnieri), for example, is the venue for the Mele a Mel (Apples in Mel) market exhibition, usually held on the second weekend in October, during which the owners open their courtyards and palaces to visitors who come to taste the hundred varieties of apples and typical products, and for the craftwork exhibition that extends along the historic centre.

Instead, the spring market exhibition (usually on the third weekend in May) dedicated to wild herbs (dandelion, nettle, hop, silene) typically used in Belluno cuisine is called Radicele.

Sponcio maize polenta and Schiz cheese, barley and bean soup, orzotto with beer, spelt salad with vegetables and Piave cheese are some of the dishes to be prepared with the raw materials supplied to the Cooperativa La Fiorita by three hundred farmer members of the area.

For tourism info:
Tourist Information Office
Piazza Papa Luciani 3
Tel. 0437 544294
turismo.mel@borgovalbelluna.bl.it
www.comune.mel.bl.it

Translated by Dr Giada Gubert
Intern at the Chamber of Commerce of Treviso – Belluno |Dolomites