1606
The origins of the site
A Venetian map of 1606 places the defensive cortina of Basaldella here. The Friulian fogolâr , still built into the structure, is about a century older than the Villa.
History
Three centuries of history, from the timber counts to the modern restoration.
A house built on the timber of the Serenissima
The Cigolotti counts, originally from the Val di Ledro, settled in Montereale Valcellina in the early seventeenth century to trade timber. They worked with the Correr, the nobles who held the transport monopoly in Venice: the Cigolotti cut in the woods of the Valcellina and on the hills of Aviano, the Correr sold in the lagoon. In 1740, at Vivaro, they decided to build themselves a summer house, which later became their permanent home.
TIMELINE
Three centuries of Villa Cigolotti
Inizio ’700
The Cigolotti in Friuli
The family extends its holdings from Montereale Valcellina to Vivaro. It is here that, a few decades later, it will build the villa.
1740
The founding of the Villa
The Cigolotti counts commission the manor house along Palladian lines, absorbing the rural buildings already on the site. Venetian terrazzo floors speak of their closeness to the nobility of the lagoon.
1777
The mill of the Serenissima
On 22 April 1777 Count Giuseppe Cigolotti obtains the mill concession from the Provveditori Sopra i Beni Inculti. Of the eighteen buildings raised on the local canal, it is the only one granted to a private citizen directly by the Republic of Venice.
Inizio ’800
Neo-Pompeian frescoes and the Barchessa
The Villa becomes the family’s permanent home. The halls of the main house gain stucco work and neo-Pompeian frescoes, still visible today. The rural Barchessa in exposed stone is built, now the banqueting hall.
Metà ’800
From the Cigolotti to the Miniscalco
After more than a century, the Cigolotti family sells the estate. The Miniscalco family takes over and goes on caring for the house, keeping its eighteenth-century character.
1939
Heritage listing
The Italian State places the whole estate under heritage protection (Law 1089/1939), recognising its historical and architectural importance.
1996
Acquisition and restoration
After decades of neglect in the second half of the twentieth century, the present owners acquire the Villa and begin a four-year conservation project, carried out under the Soprintendenza and without altering the eighteenth-century structure.
Oggi
The Villa comes back to life
Villa Cigolotti reopens as a venue for weddings, private events and as a boutique hotel. After two and a half centuries as a private home, the Cigolotti house can be walked through, hired, lived in for a night.