Along the edge of the romantic Italianate gardens of Roncade Castle there are thirty statues depicting the Schiavoni, an army corps of the Venetian Republic which was tasked with defending the Domains of the Sea and the City of Venice.
The story goes that, once upon a time, a leader of the Giustinian family lived in the castle.
When one day he had to set off on a military mission, the warlord entrusted his wife to thirty soldiers who were tasked with taking care of her and ensuring she was faithful to him. When he return several months later, he found his wife pregnant. Enraged by the obvious betrayal and for the disobeyed order, the husband ordered a wizard to turn the Schiavoni soldiers into stone statues. The wizard obeyed and, as you will have guessed, his spell has yet to be broken.
