Vascon di Carbonera: A Guide to the Treviso Hamlet and Its Villa

Vascon di Carbonera is one of the frazioni (hamlets) located within the boundaries of the town of Carbonera, located in Treviso Province, which lies on the Veneto plain a few kilometres northeast from Treviso. If you are searching for information about things to see in Vascon di Carbonera, you will find a small rural village that has an agricultural theme, with clear spring water crossing through it and near the path of the Sile river; however there is much more than this as its main point of reference is the historic Venetian villa known as Villa Loredan Valier Perocco di Meduna; specifically this villa was built during both the 17th and 18th centuries and includes a manor home, barchesse (farm buildings with porticos), an oratory, and a park. This guide provides directions to locate where Vascon di Carbonera is located along with information to help get there and what makes it worth stopping in.

In brief

• Vascon is a hamlet of the municipality of Carbonera (TV), on the Treviso plain north-east of Treviso.
• The landscape is one of spring-fed waters (risorgive) and the irrigated farmland of the Sile basin.
• The main landmark is Villa Loredan Valier Perocco di Meduna, a Venetian villa with barchesse, an oratory and a park.
• It is easily reached by car from Treviso in about ten minutes; the villa is visited by appointment.

Where Vascon di Carbonera Is

Vascon is one of the hamlets of Carbonera, a municipality within the Marca Trevigiana (Treviso District). The community lies just to the northeast of Treviso and on the edge of a plain sloping toward the lagoon. This is a low-lying area of irrigated plain with cultivated fields, rows of trees, canals, and spring-fed waters called risorgive which originate from underground and supply an excellent system of small ditches or waterways. These small water systems flow into the Sile River System, the large spring-fed river that originates nearby and runs through most areas of this province up until it reaches Treviso and goes further.

The village retains its own agricultural identity, through use of farm houses, rural courtyard and the grid like pattern that the old countryside used to have. This is a humble landscape with no display of luxury or grandness; and it is in this type of environment that the Venetian villa stands out as the single most significant man-made structure -- the central point from which were organized for centuries, both agricultural and noble life.

Photo: Paolo Tonon / Wikimedia Commons — CC BY-SA 2.0

What to See in Vascon di Carbonera

The principal cause for stopping in Vascon is its villa. Villa Loredan Valier Perocco di Meduna is a Venetian residence which includes a seventeenth-to-eighteenth century manor house, two porticoed barchesse which were used as part of the farming activities of the estate, an eighteenth-century oratory and a frescoed hall. All are located within a park supplied by water from natural springs. It represents the classic composition of the Venetian country villa - both a home and center for agricultural production - and remains as the most important point of reference for this village; anyone interested in learning about its past can read its story, and a selection of images of the interiors and the park is in the gallery.

Villa Loredan Valier Perocco di Meduna

You can find out about Vascon by meandering around the hamlet in the country road which links each of the hamlets of Carbonera. As you make your way along this route you will see farmyards, wayside shrines, canals and the order of agricultural land. For visitors traveling further afield than just Carbonera, it also makes an excellent stopping point for those who wish to take in all that there is to offer north of Treviso; such as villas, waterways and rural villages.

The Landscape of the Springs and the Sile

The defining feature of the area surrounding Vascon on the Treviso plain is its abundant water supply. Vascon is located within a zone known as the risorgive where the underground water table emerges into surface pools or springs creating cool, crystal-clear streams during all seasons of the year. The same phenomenon feeds the Sile River, one of the longest spring fed rivers in Europe, which has been designated as a regional nature park under the name Sile River Regional Nature Park. As such, these waters also irrigate and fill the villa’s park.

The presence of water is also the cause for agriculture in this region, and its numerous canals and ditches provide a lush green appearance to the area; which changes seasonally. For lovers of nature and photography, the banks and springs of the Sile district, therefore, are the most evocative aspects of this otherwise unassuming and understated location.

Villa Loredan Valier Perocco di Meduna

FAQ

Where is Vascon di Carbonera? Vascon is a hamlet of the municipality of Carbonera, in the province of Treviso, on the Veneto plain a few kilometres north-east of the provincial capital. It is part of the Marca Trevigiana and lies in low irrigated plain, within the Sile basin.

What is there to see in Vascon di Carbonera? The main landmark is Villa Loredan Valier Perocco di Meduna, a Venetian villa with a seventeenth- to eighteenth-century manor house, porticoed barchesse, an oratory and a park. Around it, the landscape of springs and irrigated farmland invites slow itineraries among the hamlets of Carbonera.

How do you get to Vascon di Carbonera from Treviso? It is about ten minutes by car from the centre of Treviso heading north-east. Treviso's railway station and airport are the nearest transport hubs. The villa is visited by appointment.

In summary

In addition to being a small agricultural hamlet on the Treviso Plain (the Treviso Plain has many hamlets), with its spring water and close proximity to the river Sile, this town's main feature is Villa Loredan Valier Perocco di Meduna. The house has a Venetian style with an oratory, barchesse and a park that gives identity to the whole village. Therefore, in order to gain complete knowledge about this village it would be interesting to combine your visit at the villa with a leisurely stroll throughout the countryside as well as around the waters of the Sile District. It will also fit very nicely into an overall itinerary for traveling among the Venetian villas of the Treviso countryside.

Sources: Comune di Carbonera, Marca Treviso, Sile River Regional Nature Park. Logistical information is indicative: always check opening hours and visiting arrangements before setting out.