Villa

:: FARM / VILLA

According to ancient texts, Busiago was an important locality during the Middle Ages, belonging to the Bishop of Padua. In 1928 Viviano de Muso as lord of these lands founded the Mussato family.
Later, in the middle of 1400, ‘Galeazzo Mussato della Concariola' built the parochial church, completed in 1461.
On the bull of Pio II issue, Galeazzo Mussato obtained the ‘juspatronato' that is the power to name the parish priest, right extended to all Mussato's members.

Originally, the centre of the property was a probable castle or fortified centre, where to protect farmers and harvests in case of need.
During the beginning of 1700, Vitaliano Mussato obtained by the Dominante (Venice Republic) the permit to convey Brenta river's waters to Busiago's fields through ‘Cioro' and ‘Ghebbo'. Thanks to this action, Vitaliano was able to create a rice-field which was 200 'Paduan' fields (772.514 sqm) wide, and a pile for rice working.
The new improved economical conditions allowed Vitaliano to add a front main building to the original rural farmhouse. This neoclassic new building included five frescoed halls with a central main hall.

The façade is enriched by the family symbol, a coat-of-arms representing a rampant mule (“musso”), which is positioned on fronton and at the entrance side. The large wings were built in 1700 too, for cereals storage purposes. Also the northern wing with the rice pile, dated XVI century, was completed during that period. On Serenissima decline and subsequent Napoleonic domination, the Mussato family declined and the estate was conveyed to Busetto Family that has been living here from 1869.

In 1897 the rice-field was still working, even if a water-mill was placed here in 1912, as a probable sign of the decreasing importance of rice farming, if compared to Indian corn and wheat.
In 1918, in the middle of the Great war, a military airport was arranged in the estate. Recognition and attack missions departed from Busiago to the near Grappa, Montello and Piave trenches.

Arcaded wings were inhabited by various families of métayer and farmers till the 60's of the last century, and the estate was an important working source for local people.

Nowadays economy has changed, but parish' religious usages still mark the important role of this estate: each recurrence of liturgical calendar is celebrated with processions reaching Busetto's courtyard, till the northern wing. Here, two sacred images are still objects of devotion: a Sant'Antonio frescoed in the mill's hall and a Madonna in her niche, under the arcades.

Recent repairs, which have been lasting more than two years, returned the ancient splendour to wings and park, reopening arcaded and showing splendid wooden structures, discovering the ancient courtyard or ‘seese' were wheat used to be dried.

At Villa Busetto important happenings take place: among them the 40^th anniversary of cultural twinning with Serres Castet, a town in the Sounth of Pyrenees, and the Local Artists Fair, with art, music, acting and painting shows.