History, charm and legends, is everything you will find when visiting this magnificent castle, on the outskirts of Mel in the municipality of Borgo Valbelluna.
Archaeological excavations indicate that it was built as early as Roman times. Constructed in a strategic position, it controlled the transit of a road artery, thought to be the Via Claudia Augusta, or one of its variants.
During the barbarian invasions it played a fundamental role, as it became the pivot of the local defensive system, tasked with ensuring connections between Feltre and Ceneda.
Also captivating is one of its many legends, which tells of the protagonist Gianserico, a mysterious character and trusted man of Amalasunta, queen of the Goths, who, after a conspiracy with Theodato, Amalasunta's cousin, fled with the maid Eduosia upon the death of his father. The two lovers took refuge in this manor, where they conceived twin children, from whom the castle of Zumelle, “castrum zumellarum” or castle of the twins, derives its name.
The Castle of Zumelle represents the symbol of the territory of Mel and the entire Valbelluna.
Its origins are debated as it is mentioned for the first time in a document from the 10th century AD, but numerous scholars associate it with previous periods of inhabitation.
While some believe the castle was built on a Roman watchtower near one of the hypothetical routes of the military road Claudia Augusta Altinate, others associate its origins with the late antique or early medieval period.
Whatever its origin, the Castle of Zumelle represents a doorway to history, a place of emotions and evocations that hark back through the centuries.
The Castle actually stands on a rocky spur that rises above the gorge of the Terche stream and is visible both from the pre-Alpine ridge and from the valley floor.
The period of utmost splendor of the manor is to be sought between the 9th and 12th centuries when it was the center of fierce clashes between the Diocese of Ceneda (Vittorio Veneto) and Belluno, and later, precisely in the 12th century, with the possession of the Da Camino family, the castle reached its maximum expansion.
Subsequently, ongoing clashes caused the manor to be destroyed and rebuilt numerous times until at least the 14th century.
From 1422, the county of Mel became a fief of the Venetian family of Zorzi, and the castle definitively lost its military prestige. Restorations in the 1960s uncovered a chapel from the 11th century with 19 burials as well as numerous masonry structures.
Currently, after the restorations of the last century, the central heart of the manor, the powerful crenellated walls, the internal halls, the chapel of San Lorenzo, the tower, the moat and the Venetian well are visible and can be visited. At the foot of the castle stands the Tavern run, like the rest of the manor, by the Castellare District Association.
