The Strassoldo family, one of the Friuli Region’s most ancient and important feudal families, has been chronicled since the Middle Ages in this area of low-lying plains, where springs are common. In Baroque times, two branches of the family transformed their respective manor houses – formerly protected by swampland – into residential Villas with elegant gardens, initially laid out according to a formal plan. The “Castello di Sopra”, the garden between the residence and the rice mill (rice grown here was once supplied to the imperial court of Vienna, with which the Strassoldo family had a privileged relationship) runs along the course of the Milleacque, a moat for the previous fortress, softened by flower beds and, at its ends, enhanced by lush vegetation. To the south, in the “Castello di Sotto”, a bridge between two fishponds leads to the parkland that extends from the house on a flat area between copious water features, past a noble courtyard converted into a garden. Interspersed with water-lily-filled ponds, it is enriched with statues of classicist-baroque style, leading to the garden’s most secret and remarkable feature: its tiny “water garden”.