When one walks among the vineyards of Miane today, or admires the elegant vistas of Vittorio Veneto, it is difficult to imagine that this idyllic landscape was, just over a century ago, the decisive front of one of the bloodiest conflicts in human history. Yet, the scars are still there: trenches hidden in the woods, tunnels dug into the rock of the Prealps, and monuments in every square.
During your stay at The Court of Marga we recommend you visit the Battle Museum In Ceneda (Vittorio Veneto), to discover that here the memory of the First World War has a gigantic, almost visceral echo. This place is not a cold exhibition of artefacts, but a sensory and emotional journey.
To understand the immense value of what is kept within it, we must understand why history chose these particular hills and who is the man who saved this memory from oblivion.
Everything changes dramatically 24 October 1917. With the defeat at Caporetto, the Italian front collapses and the army is forced into a desperate retreat. The lands of the province of Treviso, a safe rear area up to that point, are suddenly transformed into the frontline.
The retreat stops at the River Piave, which becomes the “Sacred River to the Fatherland”. The Trevigiana foothills, the hills stretching from Valdobbiadene to Vittorio Veneto, passing right through Maine, become the defensive linchpin upon which Italy's destiny hinges.
The Prosecco hills and the pre-Alps behind them (such as Mount Cesen and Col Visentin) were transformed into formidable natural fortresses. Positioning artillery on the heights allowed the Austro-Hungarians to dominate the plain and bombard the Italian lines on the Piave from a position of absolute advantage. The territory thus found itself in the middle of a fortified occupation rear, where every hayloft, cellar and bell tower was requisitioned for military purposes.
The monumental echo of the Great War in these areas is mainly linked to the immense sacrifice of the local population. Between November 1917 and October 1918, this territory experienced the historical drama known as “The Year of Hunger”.
With the arrival of hundreds of thousands of exhausted Austro-Hungarian and German soldiers, local resources were completely depleted. Crops, livestock, copper from kitchenware and even church bells were requisitioned to be melted down and turned into shells. The civilian population, consisting mainly of women, children and the elderly, was forced into labour to build trenches, military roads and barracks for the enemy.
Among the memories that are still very vivid and current is the famous 100-day road at Passo San Boldo (here is our in-depth article) blogand the Fan Street A Combai (here is our in-depth article) blog, two among many memories that have left indelible marks on the landscape of the Prosecco Hills.
This collective trauma has cemented an unbreakable bond with those events within families: the war was not something read in the newspapers, it was the enemy taking away the last piece of bread.
It is in this wounded land that the extraordinary human story behind the museum's birth is set. The Battle Museum was not born from a government decree, but from the romantic and devoted obsession of one man: Luigi Marson.
Marson was one of the celebrated “Boys of ’99”, the very young soldiers called up at just eighteen years old to defend the Piave line. Having survived the hell of the front, Marson swore to himself that the sacrifice of his comrades and the suffering of his people would never be forgotten.
From the days immediately after the armistice, Marson began to explore on foot the battlefields, hills, and abandoned trenches of the Left Piave. He collected everything the war had left in the mud: punctured helmets, rain-soaked letters, shell casings, signal flares, torn uniforms, and intimate diaries. His private collection became so vast and precious that in 1938, within the monumental Palazzo della Comunità in Ceneda, the museum was officially inaugurated. Marson had kept his promise.
Recently renovated with state-of-the-art technological and multimedia installations, the museum allows the objects collected by Marson to speak for themselves, offering a three-level journey of high emotional impact:
The section leaving visitors breathless is the Full-scale reconstruction of a trench. Walking in this confined space, enveloped by dim lights and the hollow, echoing sounds of bombardment in the corridors, one can clearly sense the soldier's daily anguish, the fear of gas, and the mud of life at the front.
The museum houses one of the richest collections of antique weapons in Europe. Alongside the official weapons of the Italian and Austro-Hungarian armies, the rudimentary and fierce close-combat instruments used in the tunnels carved into the rock of our Prealps are striking, bearing testament to a war that combined industrial technology with primitive brutality.
The top floor is a tribute to the civilian population and the aforementioned “Year of Hunger”. Through vintage photographs, documents and requisitions, the silent heroism of women and the elderly is recounted, who created an initial, spontaneous spy network to transmit information beyond the Piave, an achievement that earned Vittorio Veneto the Gold Medal of Military Valour.
In the autumn of 1918, the Italian army launched the final offensive. The focal point of this gigantic military manoeuvre was precisely Vittorio Veneto, a fundamental road and rail junction towards the Alps. Breaking through here meant dividing the Austrian armies in two and blocking their retreat.
The 30 October 1918 The Italian troops enter the city triumphantly. The collapse of the imperial army is total and will lead, on November 4th, to the Armistice. A thousand-year empire had shattered precisely among these hills.
Visiting the Battle Museum today isn't just about studying military history; it's about giving a voice to this land. Every helmet, every letter, and every object saved by Luigi Marson belongs to the hills you see outside the window.
📍 Useful information for guests: The museum is located in Piazza Giovanni Paolo I in Ceneda. It's easily reachable from Miane in about 30 minutes by car and is a perfect and profound cultural destination, also ideal for rainy days.
For more information, visit the website of Museum e schedule your visit!
“Walking along the lines that have marked the history of Europe evokes a deep sense of emotion. The best way to internalise this journey into memory is to return to the silence of our hills. We await you in Miane at our La Corte di Marga accommodation, once silent witnesses to that era of occupation and today oases of peace, comfort, and total regeneration, where you can enjoy a cool glass of wine by the poolside.”
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