Corte Emo - Pieropan

After about 40 years of Visconti rule, in the early 1400s, the municipality of Vestena came under the power of the Republic of Venice and became a fief of the Emo family, one of the most important Venetian families.
A document dated July 9, 1414, states that the Emo family acquires the jurisdiction of Vestena, thus gaining the authority to administer the territory and impose taxes on the population.
The Emo court is positioned dominantly over the Alpone valley, demonstrating the family's power, built at an altitude of 500 m, a rather rare situation in the landscape of villas.
The property later passed to the Pieropan family (a name that it is still associated with today).

The structure of the complex is a closed courtyard, with a single entrance gate that ensured protection, the main house facing south, the balcony overlooking the valley, and the adjacent buildings, where the castellan and the steward lived, forming two wings that enclosed the rectangular space of the courtyard.
The most notable architectural feature is the slender body from which the entrance to the courtyard opens, extending towards the South with almost fortress-like shapes. The main house was severely damaged during World War II, and nearly all historical evidence has been lost.

What remains of the original structure includes the oven, the copper "boiler" for heating large quantities of water, the columns that supported the courtyard's enclosing portico, the entrance gate, and the walls along the provincial road. In 1944-45, the private chapel that was part of the building and contained wooden statues and frescoes was also destroyed. Near the façade, by the entrance gate, a plaque from 1818 commemorates the opening of the road that connected Vestena with Bolca.

The Pieropan lords, owners of a large part of the Vestenese territories, were always very hospitable to scientists and nobles who visited the Bolca fossils. In 1921, they sold "La Corte" to three local residents, whose heirs remain today. The substantial modifications to the buildings almost no longer allow for the recognition of the original layout of the Villa, but, with a recent renovation, Villa Corte has been restored and now houses a farm and an agriturismo.