The pre-Roman necropolis of Mel in Borgo Valbelluna will extraordinarily open to the public for the Mele a Mel festival, on Saturday, October 10 and Sunday, October 11, 2026, it will be possible to access and visit the state archaeological area that preserves the monumental burial site of the Ancient Veneti.
A “city of the dead” among the oldest in Valbelluna and one of the few currently visitable in the entire Veneto region, rediscovered thanks to excavations that began in 1958, stands at the entrance of the village of Mel and allows us to learn about how the Paleoveneti lived and what their economic and social structure was.
The approximately 80 tombs found are inserted within 7 circles formed by slabs of sandstone driven into the ground in a vertical position. The ashes of the deceased were placed in ceramic or bronze urns along with some everyday objects inside polygonal boxes. Thus, a sort of family tomb was formed. The urns and all the objects that accompanied the burials - ornaments and tools - are displayed in the rooms of the Civic Archaeological Museum located in the Palazzo delle Contesse in the square of Mel.
The Ancient Veneti or Paleoveneti were an Indo-European population that arrived in northeastern Italy after the middle of the 2nd millennium B.C. Through numerous archaeological excavations and related finds, the history and identity of this population have been reconstructed over the years. The Veneti initially settled in the area between Lake Garda and the Euganean Hills and later expanded to Adria (RO) to the south and to the Tagliamento River to the east.
Free entry.
