Promo - published on 24 June 2024
Text by Cecilia Flaccavento, Intern at the Chamber of Commerce of Treviso - Belluno|Dolomites
The Veneto villa is a type of patrician residence founded by the aristocracy of the Venetian Republic and developed in the agricultural areas of the Veneto region.
Approximately 200 villas have been recorded in the province of Belluno, built between the 15th and 19th centuries.
The development of villas in this mountainous area was influenced by unique geographical, historical and economic factors.
The villas in Belluno initially began as permanent residences for landowners, who lived there to closely follow agricultural activities, their only source of income. Only later did some of these villas become holiday residences.
Agriculture in the Belluno area benefited from the introduction of new crops such as the bean in 1532, the potato in 1765 and maize in the 16th century. The latter also influenced rural architecture, leading to the spread of arcades and loggias in peasant houses for drying cobs. There are also numerous small buildings that are neither true villas nor simple peasant dwellings (such as the houses of Fiammòi, Limana, S. Antonio di Tortal, Paderno, and others).
These buildings indicate the possible presence of a middle class, partly linked to agriculture (artisans, merchants, parish priests and canons), who acted as a link between nobility and peasants.
A common characteristic of stately buildings in the Belluna valley is their small size.
The typical austerity of white façades in the Palladian style is often abandoned in favour of bright colours such as yellow and brick red. Among the most significant examples of these colourful villas in the Belluno area are the Villa Buzzati in S. Pellegrino, the Villa Agosti in Villanova, and the neo-Gothic villa of Menin in the Feltrino area. Giuseppe Segusini also made eclectic style changes in the rustic buildings of the monumental complex at Patt di Sedico.
Dino Buzzati, a writer who was deeply attached to his homeland and in particular to the ‘old family home’ in S. Pellegrino (about two kilometres south of Belluno), said: ‘The enchantment of this land lies above all in the fact that the refined spirit of Venice and the rough, silent presence of the mountains meet and mingle there. The result is a very special charm that cannot be found anywhere else.”
Indeed, the unmistakable imprint of Venice is unmistakable, especially on the façades, characterised by taste, elegance and grace and the same aspiration for serenity and joy. But, unlike the villas on the plain, there is no clear sky behind them, but the silent mountains loom up in all their grandeur or are framed in scenes of cliffs and valleys. The result is what Dino Buzzati called ‘a unique phenomenon’.
Another notable characteristic of the Belluno villas is the great variety of types, which are difficult to group into schemes, even according to period. There is also a diversity between the Feltre area, the Belluno area and the Sinistra Piave area.
Here are the 200 Belluno villas divided by municipality and locality
MUNICIPALITY LOCALITY
AGORDO
BELLUNO
CESIOMAGGIORE
FELTRE
FONZASO
LENTIAI
LIMANA
MEL
PEDAVENA
PIEVE D’ALPAGO
PONTE NELLE ALPI
SAN GREGORIO NELLE ALPI
SAN PIETRO DI CADORE
SANTA GIUSTINA
SEDICO
SOSPIROLO
TRICHIANA
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