MARTELLAGO

The area where Martellago now stands has been inhabited since the Paleo-Venetian age and was part of the Altinate countryside during the Roman era. After the Barbarian invasions, the original settlement was abandoned, and a new village was built around the parish church of St Stephen.

The origin of the town’s name is uncertain: some say it derives from ‘Martis lacus’ (Lake of Mars), some from the family name Marzia, while others think it derives from the root ‘mad’, meaning marsh. Martellago is home to the 16th-century Villa Grimani-Morosini Ca’ della Nave, which in recent years has become a prestigious golf club, and the 18th-century Villa Fapanni-Combi. Midway between the town of Martellago and its district, Maerne, is the Parco dei Laghetti, a large park managed by the municipality and the WWF.

Worth Visiting

  • The Church of Santo Stefano built in the late 18th century

  • Villa Grimani-Morosini Ca’ della Nave, a 16th century villa with adjacent grounds built by the Venetian Priuli family, then sold to the Grimani family around 1650

  • Villa Fapanni-Combi, an 18th-century villa built by the Venetian Corner family of San Polo; sold in 1809 by Elisabetta Corner-Morosini Giustinian to Francesco M. Fapanni

Don’t Miss

Midway between Martellago and Maerne is Parco dei Laghetti, a large 50-hectare park managed by the municipality and the Mirano WWF. The park was created in the late 1980s in an area once used as a clay pit. It was later designated a Site of Community Importance by the EU. As well as large areas of woodland and long paths, the park has four small ponds of varying depths from the sand and clay quarries. It also has a spacious lawn with a children’s play area and a refreshment area.

An environmental education centre, located on the right-hand side of the road just inside the northern entrance, is used by various sports associations and education centres.