This hedge maze, located in the town of Stra near Venice, was built in the 18th century on the grounds of Villa Pisani. For its small size, the labyrinth has a rather complex structure, and they say that Napoleon himself got lost here, walking along its tangled paths in 1807.
The landscape art of the late Middle Ages created a fashion for noble labyrinth-style gardens that were created for many centuries. But the Pisani labyrinth has a slightly different story …
Legend has it that a wealthy doge once lived on this estate with his wife. They loved each other, did not know grief and troubles, but over the years, the doge fell seriously ill. Once, a strange monk came to his reception, who for a modest fee invited him to stay with his beloved even after death. This is how the construction of the labyrinth began.
During the day, the best masters of Venice worked on the project, and in the evenings the monk performed special rituals there: he read prayers and watered the ground with a solution made according to an old recipe.
It was assumed that the soul of the owner of the villa was to remain in the designated place, therefore, when the doge was on his deathbed, he was transferred to the labyrinth, where he died.
According to rumors, the widow of the Doge, who is in mourning, often visited the labyrinth and sometimes left there with a smile on her face. Some servants whispered that she had lost her mind, while others believed in the presence of the spirit of the deceased among the hedges. And one cold autumn morning she entered the labyrinth and did not leave it. Three days of searching were unsuccessful.
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After these events, the villa in Stra was given over to the needs of the country's top officials and political negotiations. For example, it was here that the first meeting of two famous dictators took place: Benito Mussolini and Adolf Hitler. It is worth noting that the latter was an ardent adherent of the occult sciences.
Currently, the palace-villa and its entire territory are a museum that anyone can visit. Obviously, they do not want to spoil such a historically aristocratic place with ill fame and adhere to another legend of creating a labyrinth.