Villesse

The municipality of Villesse is part of the Province of Gorizia and is situated at the confluence between the Isonzo river and the Torre stream.

Around the end of the nineteenth century some excavations were made in the area surrounding today's cemetery and some finds (mosaic floors, remains of buildings and coins) were found, which date back to the age of Antoninus Pius, a happy and prosperous period for the Empire.

The name of Villesse was mentioned for the first time in an 11th-century document, but the small church of St. Michael, Villesse's most important monument, may date back at least to the 7th century.

Among the town's most important monuments, we would like to mention the eighteenth-century Palazzo Coronini, which today is owned by the municipality and houses the town library, and some old manor houses.

A characteristic of Villesse, which is common to many towns of the Isonzo area, are the votive icons, devotional images typical of eastern Friuli, which were made between the 15th and the 20th century; such images are numerous and enrich the façades of some private houses.