Villa di Modolo is one of the 15 major villas in the province of Belluno and is included in the catalog of the one hundred Venetian villas by Antonio Canova.
A short distance from the center of Belluno, immersed in greenery, Villa Miari Fulcis is a true architectural gem that deserves a visit to be combined perhaps with a walk along the beautiful Modolo ring.
One arrives at a small square where the family chapel dedicated to San Lorenzo stands. Passing through the eighteenth-century gate, one enters the garden, meets the old stables, and finally the Villa di Modolo, a grand construction from the early 1800s designed by architect Andrea Miari.
The central body, decorated with Ionic and Corinthian semi-columns, extends into a wing to which another lower building is attached: the Barchessa, with a porch on the ground floor and cellars below where the date 1644 is still legible.
It was built in the eighteenth century, but the appearance you will see today is the result of changes made in the nineteenth century that affected both the villa and the old stables that flank it. Entering the halls on the first floor, admire the decorations and frescoes that embellish the walls. Unfortunately, these are only part of the entire decorative apparatus that was destroyed during the two world wars. Descending the large staircase, return outside, look for the coat of arms of the Miari family accompanied by the date 1806, and let your gaze wander over the beautiful garden and the baroque railing beside the building, which encloses and protects this elegant villa.
The complex represents one of the major examples of villas perfectly integrated into the great tradition of the most significant Venetian models.
