Lanthieri's Villa Belvedere in Zemono near Vipava got its name for the beautiful view of the upper Vipava Valley that opens up from the small hill surrounded by vineyards.
The history of the villa in Zemono remains shrouded in mystery: the preserved archival sources rarely mention it. The reason for this is not only the large family archive being lost during the First World War (older family documents were burned in a fire in Vipava Mansion, which was initiated by lightning in 1550), but mainly the function that the building had: originally a wine cellar and later a place for entertainment, it was only one of the buildings of Vipava Mansion, and never the seat of the feudal estate. The Counts of Lanthieri had it rebuild in nearby Vipava in the middle of the 17th century.
The year 1683 is most often mentioned in literature as the year of construction of Villa Belvedere, including by Helena Friderika Karolina Lanthieri in the family chronicle (1865-1960). In terms of form and function, the building has a special place in the architectural heritage of Slovenia, as it is a unique example of a late Renaissance suburban villa or mansion. The walls of the hall are painted with marble architecture and with various framed historical scenes and motifs. The large fields are painted with idyllic vedutas that, with images of fictional mills, castles and villas, may speak about the many family estates. The frescoes often depict mills that could be hinting at Lanthieri's paper mill in Ajdovščina and the mill in Pekel. The coats of arms of noble families associated with the Lanthieris are painted above the entrances to the corner rooms. They are arranged in a special order because they read as a genealogical tree of the family. Figural scenes are depicted in tondos above the windows. The literary sources that served as basis for the depicted scenes are varied, from the Old Testament (the scene of Susanna at her bath and Lot's drunkenness) to Ovid's Metamorphoses (Leto turns Lycian peasants into frogs and perhaps Lycaon's metamorphosis), Philostratus's Imagines (Bacchus finds Ariadne on the island of Naxos) and Iconologia di Cesare Ripa (War, Choleric Temperament and Bacchanalia). The scenes of War (a knight on horseback running towards a pillar) and of Choleric Temperament (a duel of nobles on horseback with swords) were not chosen at random: they refer to an imperial order banning the Lanthieris from starting any war or conflict. The ban was included in the contract awarding Gašper Lanthieri the right of purchase for the Rihemberk and Vipava estates in 1528, i.e. at the official beginning of the rule of the Lanthieris in Vipava, with the mentioned scenes warning the owners against losing their estate.
In addition to physical activities suitable for nobles (hunting), the frescoes in the corner rooms show various examples of garden architecture, which was a mandatory element in parks of suburban villas. Today, the wedding hall, with painted illusionist architecture, gives the impression of a garden pavilion that opens up views of the large garden with caves, fountains, pavilions and beautifully landscaped flower beds.
