Cartigliano
Cartigliano is a municipality on the Vicenza plain, lying along the course of the Brenta river, where cultivated countryside surro...
Updated 12 July 2026
The story
The story of Cartigliano
Cartigliano and the Brenta river
Cartigliano lies on the Vicenza plain, along the course of the Brenta river, in a position that from the 15th century onward attracted the interest of Venetian patrician families, eager to establish their mainland interests here. The largely agricultural territory is crossed by irrigation ditches and canals drawn from the Brenta, which for centuries watered the cultivated fields and powered mills and craft activities. Even today Cartigliano's landscape retains this rural imprint, with farmsteads, tree-lined rows and a close relationship between the built centre and the surrounding countryside, making it a genuinely rural plain-land municipality, grown around its bond with the river and the land.
Villa Morosini Cappello, 'il Palazzo'
The monumental heart of Cartigliano is Villa Morosini, Cappello, Battaggia, Lampertico, Vanzo Mercante, known simply as 'il Palazzo', a Venetian building located in the centre of the town and today the seat of the town hall. Its construction was commissioned by the Morosini 'di San Silvestro', Venetian patricians who since the 15th century had made this the centre of their mainland interests, and it was built in the second half of the 16th century to a design attributed to the Palladian-school architect Francesco Zamberlan. The building's most original feature is the double-height colonnade running along its entire perimeter, with simple pilasters at ground level and Ionic columns on the main and second floors, an architectural solution that makes the villa a distinctive example of 16th-century Veneto building.
From the Morosini to the municipality: a chain of owners
The villa later passed to the Cappello family, and in 1786, following the marriage between Elena Gioseffa Cappello and Zuanne Battaggia, it was inherited by the latter. In the early 19th century it was purchased by the Lampertico family, eventually reaching the Vanzo Mercante family, who in 1966 transferred it to the Municipality of Cartigliano. This long succession of noble owners reflects well the history of many Veneto villas, often passed from family to family before arriving, in modern times, at a public and civic use. Today Villa Morosini Cappello also houses the town's Centro di Cultura, with spaces dedicated to exhibitions and events that keep it alive as a cultural reference point for the whole area.
The return of silkworm breeding
One of Cartigliano's most original features today is the northern barchessa of Villa Morosini, where a volunteer-run silkworm breeding facility has been set up, part of a project aiming to rebuild an Italian silk supply chain respectful of the environment and labour. The initiative, launched in October 2014 as a network of enterprises called 'La Rinascita della Via della Seta' (Rebirth of the Silk Road), aims to relaunch sericulture in Veneto, a region where the last Italian silk mill had closed almost fifty years before the project began. A plan worth 2.3 million euros was presented to the heritage authority for restoring the barchessa and creating a museum with a complete silk-production facility, a project weaving together historical memory and sustainable development.
A farming town with an architectural treasure
Beyond the villa, Cartigliano is a modestly sized municipality, with an economy still strongly tied to agriculture and livestock farming, typical of the Vicenza plain between Bassano del Grappa and the surrounding area. The town centre retains a simple character, without major tourist infrastructure, but the presence of Villa Morosini Cappello makes it a stop of real interest for anyone following the itinerary of Veneto villas along the Brenta. It is a good example of how, even in a modest rural setting, an architectural heritage of high historical value can coexist with the everyday life of a farming community that continues to work the surrounding land.
Experiences not to miss
- Admire the double-height colonnade of Villa Morosini Cappello
- Visit the cultural centre housed inside the villa
- Discover the silkworm breeding project in the historic barchessa
- Walk along the Brenta among rural farmsteads and countryside
- Explore the Veneto villa itineraries of the area
To see
What to see in Cartigliano
Routes · Trovido Route
Routes in Cartigliano
Jobs · JobFlow
