In the kingdom of the Red Prince, a land between sea and large rivers

This itinerary reaches the heart of the Radicchio di Chioggia PGI, that is the vegetable gardens where the cultivation that led to the modern product began almost one hundred years ago. A very particular landscape made by man, along the three centuries of horticulture that Chioggia can document, characterized by typical casoni and patches of variegated land that changes color due to the season. A land of work but remained deeply original, as evidenced by the Integral Nature Reserve of Bosco Nordio, a fragment of the ancient wood that a thousand years ago skirted the coastline to Ravenna.

Isola Verde > Ca’ Lino > Cavanella d’Adige

1. The mouths of the Adige

The Adige is one of the rivers that most contributed to the formation of this land. The constant supply of debris, sand and fresh water is at the origin of the formation of these environments. But the history of the Adige is also made of commerce, its auction was for centuries a complex world made up of customs, ports, moorings, raftsmen and rafts, ‘burchi’ (cargo boats), towpaths that allowed the transport of goods to the cities of the hinterland.

2. Punta Busiola

In the locality of Punta Busiola, in the municipality of Sant’Anna, almost at the mouth of the Adige river, a farm carries on the processing of the marsh reed. Today the activity has educational purposes and testimony of the economy of the past, but (by) booking it is possible to visit the establishment and learn about this ancient art made with old machines that are almost one hundred years old.

3. Integral nature reserve of Bosco Nordio

A millenary green spot, 113 hectares of natural woods that allow the visitor to observe what the landscape before agriculture should have been, namely a large green spot characterized by holm oak woods, interspersed with oak and pine forests. The visit is possible only accompanied by environmental guides, the area is also equipped with a series of educational itineraries and interactive signage. Info on websites www.venetoagricoltura.it e www.hylacoop.it

4. Busiola Water Supply Complex

The Busiola dewatering system is today a fascinating landscape landmark as well as being a fundamental element for regulating the irrigation system of the whole area. Inside there are still old pumps with diesel engines, historical evidence of a past still very close. The former house of the water diver, near the plant, hosts information and cultural activities open to the public.

5. La Brenta Nuova or the "Cunetta"

The Brenta Nuova or the "Cunetta" is the main branch of the different hydraulic diversions of the river beds made by the Venetians in seven centuries of work, to avoid the burial of the lagoon. The new mouth was built in 1896 dividing Sottomarina from Ca ’Lino, once contiguous, creating at the same time the Island of Bacucco or the current Green Island.

6. Gardens of the Radicchio of Chioggia IGP

Close to the Brenta bank is the heart of the production area of the ‘Radicchio di Chioggia PGI’, because/since is right here, almost a hundred years ago, production began. From the selection of the "Radicchio Variegato di Castelfranco" the local gardeners have adapted the varieties to the characteristics of this territory. With the manual selection of the seed, the tufts that tended to close like a ball were preferred, because they were more inaccessible to the intrusions of sand raised by the sea winds.

7. The casoni and the "Sardinian locks"

Among the elements that characterize the landscape of this part of the Venice Lagoon, the geometric and square shapes of the horticultural ‘casoni’ (huts) must certainly be included. Once made of wood, and then built in masonry from the 1960s-1970s, they are the silent and polite guardians of all the equipment used in horticultural production.