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CULTURE | |||||||||||||
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From Venice to Rimini |
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| >Byzantine Culture >Este Culture >Maritime culture | ||
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The history of the Po Delta area is the story of a millenary interaction between nature forces and human activities, which fostered the existence of a great variety of environments and cultural highlights on the territory; these elements continue to interact nowadays in a constantly changing context. The delta territory was born in the course millennia from the deposit of detritus by the river Po: this caused the progressive shifting of the Adriatic coastline. An area among earth and sea which is continuously evolving, and which serves as a door to the sea for the Po Plain. Following the steps of medieval pilgrims, and of the Roman garrisons long before, an ideal geographical triangle had (and still has nowadays) at its vertexes the legendary Venice, the magnificent Ferrara (Este itinerary) and the shining Ravenna (Byzantine itinerary). Not to mention, towards the South, the wonderful Rimini. Archaeological finds have revealed the existence of an Etruscan market in Spina, as well as of important trade relationships with Greek and North-European civilisations. The first hydraulic works date back to the Etruscan age too: they were aimed at the development of both navigation, fish culture and agriculture. Later on, the Romans provided the region with sea routes and roads, strengthening its ports and all its economic activities. They also left some important masterpieces of architecture, such as the Harbour of Classe and several churches in Ravenna which, with their wonderful early Christian and Byzantine mosaics, bear testimony to the magnificence of the area in the 5th – 6th century, when Ravenna was the capital of the Western Roman Empire and, later on, the seat of the Eastern Empire exarchate. The Romea road, whose stretch between Chioggia and Ravenna was rebuilt in the Middle Ages, was traced between Ravenna and Cattolica along the ancient “Popilia” road. The town of Comacchio, protected by its Valli (small lagoons), is a great historical example of lagoon civilisation. Its development started in the Longobard period, thanks to the abundance of fish and salt. The important link between towns and the precious “white gold” is even more evident in the beautiful town of Cervia: it rose on the Adriatic coast following the abandonment of the Roman inner town of Ficocle, which was too exposed to the often harmful odours coming from the salt basins. Comacchio and Cervia: two centres that bear witness, more than any other in the Delta, to the sea civilisation characterising the whole territory. The abbey of Pomposa was build by the Benedictines at the heart of the Delta between the 7th and the 9th century. With its extraordinary mosaic floors, its frescos and its perfect bell tower, it is an excellent representative of the results achieved by art at that time. Some important drainage works also contributed to improve the agricultural and hydraulic conditions of the area. The following centuries were characterised by a slow and progressive decline, which caused the territory to turn swampy. It was only in the 16th century that new drainage works were undertaken by Duke Alfonso II D’Este, who chose the Mesola Castle - residence of the Este’s court during the hunting parties in the homonymous wood - as the reference point for the reclamation works to be carried out. The Delta landscape began to regain stability in the 17th century, and especially after the country’s unification, when new huge drainage works were started on thousands of hectares of marshlands, thus bringing dramatic changes to both landscape and human settlements and activities. Nowadays the delta territory protected by the Parc is characterised by different kinds of areas, linked by the theme of water and presenting a wide range of environmental, landscape, animal and plant varieties. |