History

It all began in 1937 when the engineer Baron Giovanni Ciani Bassetti, from Trentino, decided to acquire the Marango land from the Franchetti family. He reclaimed the 400 hectares of malaria-infested swampy fields, erected dykes, and dug channels – all the work being carried out by hand, using shovels. It proved to be a successful investment, and was one of the last major twentieth-century land reclamations in the Eastern Veneto.

This marked the beginning of a new life for many of the farmers and their families. Ciani Bassetti built dozens of new houses for them: Cà Giustizia, Cà Pace, Cà Lealtà, Cà Economia, Cà Angelo, Cà Sergio – names that evoke a distant and special past. Crops such as beans, potatoes, corn and beet were cultivated, vineyards were planted, and stables built. This major work of modernisation was recognised as pioneering and was awarded a number of national prizes.

In 1997, Ciani Bassetti’s daughter, Antonia, gave a new impulse to the farm by restoring Cà Economia and adapting it for use as holiday accommodation. She also transformed the plots of land to make them suitable for the new sub-irrigated crops and carefully modified the landscape by planting long lines of maple, hornbeam, hazel, and oak trees. Antonia, a pioneer in understanding the tourist value of the Marango, was the first to restore and open her home to guests.

Since 2008, the farm has been run by Moreno Valeri who, with his family, has given a further professional contribution to both the farm and the apartments. The proof is in the number of guests who keep returning to Agriturismo Lemene where they are made to feel at home in a safe and friendly environment.