The Villa is situated on an artificial terrace, supported by high stone walls. The access road to Cart di Sopra runs alongside the walls of the embankment. The morphology of the hill, the terraces, and the enclosing walls, along with the ancient road system, have urbanistically structured the small nucleus of Cart di Sopra. The ridge settlement system, of medieval origin, is still intact and constitutes a landscape unit of strong environmental significance. The loss of agricultural function has favored the conversion of buildings into new residential use, corresponding to a different productive and land structure. The main access occurs from the west, through a portal defined by two rusticated pillars. To the north, the villa faces directly onto the road; a short stone staircase marks the entrance portal. At both ends of the villa, there are two evident bricked-up archways. On the east side, it opened onto a walled garden with an orchard. To the west, the villa is flanked by a porticoed building under which the public road passes. Behind the villa stood the small Church of Santa Maria. The place is mentioned in sixteenth-century notarial deeds as “loco vocato a S. Maria.” The church was visited in 1588 by Bishop Rovellio. On the north façade of the villa, on a frame of the graphite decoration, is engraved the date 1632. However, the date seems to refer to the renovation of a pre-existing structure; in fact, the villa is inserted into a building complex that develops aligned along the ridge of the hill, which includes late Gothic buildings. Proven origins dating back to at least the sixteenth century are supported by a recent archaeological dig that uncovered the Church of Santa Maria. Subterranean walls connect the church with the villa and with the Facino-Pasole house. In the 1700s, the villa belonged to the noble Villabruna family. Ownership is documented in notarial acts from 1723, 1731, and 1815. Until 1887, it was owned by the noble Marsiai heirs of Villabruna.

Excellences of the villa: The villa is an evident seventeenth-century restructuring of an older building. In the central environment, the dimensions of the southern trifora have been modified, and the bifora with a central pilaster to the north has been replaced by a single window. The decorative apparatus represents a fake porticoed architecture where green columns with golden Corinthian capitals support a beam structure. The rhythm of the columns frames areas highlighted by a perimeter band in fake red marble. Within the panels are frescoed knightly scenes, likely inspired by biblical themes. The original main body has a classical distribution scheme with a central hall and two opposed flanking rooms. The doors, bricked up, are located in the middle of the hall and included in the fresco decoration. The landscapes recall the work of Marco da Mel, who frescoed the nearby Pasole house. Some original furnishings (16th and 17th century).

Excellences of the context: The hill of Cart still constitutes an environmental context untouched by the urbanization processes that have affected the plain of the Feltrina valley. The orography, the structure of land ownership, and protective measures have promoted the preservation of an intact agricultural landscape. Historical cartography highlights a linear inhabited nucleus whose layout has remained unchanged over time. The inhabited nucleus has been recorded in the Atlas of Historical Centers compiled by the Region. Scholars agree in evaluating the avenue of Cart as a significant urban-environmental system in which the “villa” and its surroundings organize the territory. The ridge settlement system, typical especially of the hill of Cart di Sopra, is of medieval origin. The ancient sunken road lined with thick hornbeam hedges traverses an extraordinary agricultural landscape, still cultivated.

The villa is visitable by appointment.

Built by A. Paolo Tremignòn between 1711 and 1713. It was splendidly finished and adorned with paintings by the Belluno artists Marco and Sebastiano Ricci.

Excellences of the villa: The exceptional value of the villa was the cycle of paintings by Sebastiano and Marco Ricci. Only the scheme and the memory remain in the watercolor by Osvaldo Monti, visible in the civic museum of Belluno.

Excellences of the context: In the immediate vicinity lies the city of Belluno, also rich in artistic and cultural facilities, worthy of a visit.

The park is open for free visits by appointment only.

Villa Giustinian – Molon Traverso was built around 1680 at the behest of the Venetian nobleman Girolamo Giustinian, belonging to the “delle Acque” branch, named after the Venetian street not far from Rialto where their residence stood.

From 1711 to 1735, the Bishop of Torcello, Venice, Marco Giustinian spent his summer holidays at the Villa in Campo di Pietra. Upon his death, he left a sum of money by will for the parish of San Mauro at Campo di Pietra.

Consulting the accounting books of the Giustinian family, it is interesting to learn about the production of wine “in caneva de Campo de Piera” and how it was later shipped via river to Venice either for personal use in Calle delle Acque or to be sold in the market.

In March 1792, due to complex testamentary issues, the properties passed to the Querini Stampalia and the Morosini Gatterburg family. The latter subsequently sold off much of what they inherited. “IL DOMINICALE DI CAMPO DI PIETRA,” as the property was called by the Querini Stampalia, experienced a period of agronomic expansions and prosperity, thanks also to the reclamation of some surrounding lands and the raising of silkworms.

In 1851, Count Giovanni Querini participated in the first universal exposition (London) with the silk produced in the Campo di Pietra silk factory, winning an important recognition.

The estate remained with the Querini Family until 1869 when the last family member, Count Giovanni Querini Stampalia, passed away. In his will, he left all his properties for the establishment of the Pia Querini Stampalia Foundation of Campo Santa Maria Formosa, Venice. The Foundation still exists today and opens its museum and library to the public. However, over the years, to maintain the foundation, much of the properties in the Veneto hinterland were sold, along with the Villa of Campo di Pietra.

In 1909, the Villa passed to Giuseppe Tommaseo Ponzetta, who shortly thereafter sold it to the Tagliapietra family.

In 1917, it came under the control of Guido Carretta from Santa Maria di Campagna, who effectively created, in conjunction with the raising of silkworms, an agricultural business of about a thousand hectares with vineyards, wheat, and grain.

In 1918, the Villa, located about 3 km from the Piave river, was occupied by Austrian troops during the final phase of the First World War and was hit by several shells from Italian artillery, suffering heavy damage. Between 1919 and 1923, the complex was restored to its original condition and enlarged with the construction of new cellars.

In 1969, the Villa was registered with the Regional Institute of Venetian Villas, thus imposing a structural protection constraint still in place today.

In 1995, the Molon Traverso Family purchased the Villa and, with courage, commitment, and passion, began a long renovation, restoring it to the glorious times of the Serenissima Republic of Venice. The inauguration took place in August 1996.

In 2015, Villa Giustinian – Molon Traverso was awarded by the Regional Institute of Venetian Villas at the Palazzo Ducale in Venice with the prize “Best Venetian Villa 2015” for the activities carried out and the commitment shown towards the conservation and enhancement of Villa Molon.

Today, the facilities host, as in the past, the aging cellars, the small Osteria, the wine shop with gastronomic excellences, the museum of rural civilization, administrative offices, and spaces dedicated to various types of events.