Viilla Beatrice stands on the top of Mount Gemola in a panoramic position. The monumental complex takes the name of a saint, Beatrice, who lived here from 1221 and 1226. In this area stood, in fact, in place of the current villa an ancient monastery / Benedictine convent, dedicated to St. John the Baptist, previously inhabited by hermits, like many others scattered during the Middle Ages in the solitude of the Euganei. Beatrice descended from the illustrious family of the Estensi who, before moving to Ferrara, had lordship over Este and part of the Paduan territory. In 1576 the religious of the Gemola monastery were transferred to Padua and Beatrice's remains moved to the Church of Santa Sofia
The monastery was then abandoned and the news documented on the history of the complex very few. It is certain that in 1657 the property was owned by the Venetian merchant Francesco Ruberto who transformed it into a villa giving it its current appearance. The construction of the barchessa dates back to the end of the 19th century. Restored in the early '80s it was destined to host in some places a Naturalistic Museum of the Euganean Hills. The main building externally preserves a monastic severity with a parsimonious use of decorative elements. Internally the building is structured with the typical plan of the Venetian patrician buildings with central hall and rooms open laterally to this. The central hall has a double height and is embellished by a Murano glass chandelier, a seventeenth-century balustrade and a beautiful wooden ceiling with geometric compartments. The noble oratory attached to the villa dedicated to San Giovanni Battista also stands out. The museum exhibition includes sections dedicated to insects, reptiles, amphibians, birds and flora of the Euganean Hills.

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