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Villa Giustinian is one of the most important testaments to rural culture in the Venetian society, located in the municipality of Roncade, a few minutes from the province of Venice.

Its history is ancient, dating back to the X century, but the current building was built in the XVI century on the former structure, by the Giustinian family.
The villa, also known as the “Castle”, due to its walls and crenellated towers, is a rare example of a XVI century aristocratic settlement and a precursor of the new Venetian noble abodes by Palladio and his followers.

The current owner, Baron Ciani Bassetti, has enhanced this place while preserving his agricultural heritage – especially viticulture – inherited from his family from Trentino Region.

THE VILLA

The structure consists of a tripartite two-level noble palace, with a portico and a loggia on the central part of the main façade; on the sides, there are two long barns delimiting a large garden.

The “Castle” is basically the only existing Venetian residence surrounded by medieval walls: crenellated with corner towers, almost entirely surround the garden, and, externally, they are enclosed within a large moat fed by water from the nearby Musestre River.
There are four corner towers dominating the landscape, while other two impressive ones protect the main entrance, prominently showing the Giustinian’s coat-of-arms (a double-heahed eagle).

THE GARDEN

The internal garden is lawned and it is dominated by centuries-old pines and magnolias (Magnolia grandiflora). Along the central avenue, there are two rows of XVIII-century statues representing some military figures. In front of the villa, the paved courtyard is flanked by two Italian gardens with geometric flower beds and paths defined by low hedges, while on the back there is the “brolo” (a vegetable garden and an orchard mostly surrounded by a wall or hedged). Along the long walls there are two arcades with large arches; at the end of the left one, there is the small church dedicated to Saint Anne, decorated with a marble medallion with the effigy of Saint Lorenzo Giustinian.

This post is also available in: Italiano (Italian)