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Villa Rusconi Building dating from the late 18th century Edificio risalente alla fine del XVIII secolo Colonel Giuseppe Antonio Rusconi had this stately home built between the 18th and 19th centuries. The building is characterised by two protruding wings and a tower topped with a belvedere under a neoclassical domed ceiling painted with fictive coffers. Nothing remains of the large hall decorated with stucco, marble and paintings. It was demolished in 1925.
The land surrounding the villa has been inhabited since the late Bronze Age (1550–1200 BCE). This is confirmed by a fire pit, a considerable quantity of ceramics and two belt buckle fragments found during the archaeological excavations. The necropolis, consisting of seven adult tombs found to the west of the villa and three children’s tombs, to the north dates from Late Antiquity (5th–8th century).
The tombs were covered with a thick layer of alluvial debris consisting primarily of masonry, ceramic material dating back to Roman times. In addition to roof tiles and slates, fragments of amphorae from the 1st century AD were also found. The most significant remains in terms of their size and state of preservation date from the 14th–15th centuries. These consist of sections of buildings built on two sides of a courtyard. At the eastern end is the main historical building, which was accessed through a portico paved with granite slabs and topped by a gneiss roof.
The most recent finds preserve the remains of the walls of a water basin and a wing of agricultural outbuildings. The latter consisted of four storage rooms with barrel vaults. It is possible that the original construction was part of a network of rest stops located at regular intervals along the mule track that led from Bellinzona to Monte Ceneri.