Naturalistic itineraries
Not far from the most beaten routes by the mass tourism, another Venice
offers its visitors the possibility to penetrate into that wise but
uncertain equilibrium which constitutes the lagoon ecosystem. It is Venice of the lagoon and its islands, a wide
outstretch of water and semi-immersed lands where the time is beaten by the flows of the tides, the traditional boats stubbornly resist the noisy aggressiveness of the engines, the
colours of water blend with the red bricks of buildings and where
the sandbanks welcome their inhabitants:little egrets, herons,
seagulls...
In these pages, we propose to you a series of naturalistic itineraries in the north and south lagoon discovering its pearls of art and history, its ambient aspects, its traditional but also unusual destinations, far away from mass tourism, where you can choose between different routes which, starting from the historic centre of Venice (pier/landing stage Fondamenta Nuove), touching the islands and places that can be reached by means of public transport and then traversed on foot or by bicycle.
It is a visit which foresees the exploration of the North lagoon amongst the islands of Murano and Burano with their productive traditions and historic palaces, the island-cemetery of San Michele, the "gardens of the Serenissima", the agricultural islands of Sant'Erasmo and Vignole, amongst the typical lagoon landscapes of Treporti and Lio Piccolo, up to place characterised by monuments which bring us back to the origins of the Republic of Venice like the island of Torcello.
The visit continues to the South lagoon, crossing the island which host ancient monasteries and religious centres like San Lazzaro of the Armenians and San Servolo, up to the coasts of Lido, where it is possible to stop for a while on its worldly and crowded beaches, amongst chic icons of the Cinema Festival, advance up to the ancient Basilica of Malamocco, to the mouth of Alberoni port and then cross by ferryboat and continue along the solitary sandy tongues of Pellestrina, in a suggestive cycling route between the sea and the lagoon until arrival to the Natural Oasis of Ca’ Roman to observe the unpolluting fish valleys which extend as far as the eye can see, almost up to Chioggia.
During the boat journeys between one island and another you can observe the aquatic ambient with its vast flora and fauna varieties and enjoy the inimitable lagoon landscape with its mute outstretches where earth and water melt in harmonious symbiosis; surely, it would be ideal to have a private boat on disposal to stop for a while in the most unusual and hidden spaces, but for the ones who don't have this possibility the public transport means offer in any case a valid solution since they arrive almost everywhere. It is always advisable to get daily ACTV tickets.
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San Michele on Island and Murano
Let’s start our journey in the northern lagoon of Venice by discovering two islands, not far away from the city historic centre, nicknamed respectively island “of the dead” and island “of the flames”: island-cemetery of San Michele and Murano, the island of the furnaces.
Mazzorbo, Burano, Torcello
This excursion of interest, not only landscape but also ethnographic and cultural, will lead you to the historic, artistic and popular heart of the north lagoon that offers itself to a visitor, revealing itself in multiple and contradictory aspects of its actual reality. A suggestive experience, to relive one whole day, without harrying, with a soul willing to discover and be astonished by given beauty of nature and traces of history that used to a theatre for this part of the lagoon.
Vignole, Lazzaretto Nuovo, Sant'Erasmo
One day for discovering islets bent for agriculture in the north lagoon, that still to this day supply a great deal of city markets. From Vignole to Sant'Erasmo, the “vegetable gardens of Serenissima” on Lazzaretto Nuovo which offers its visitors considerable hints of naturalistic and landscape interest.
San Servolo and San Lazzaro
This itinerary, that requires an entire day, will take you to the middle of the basin of St Mark’s on the discovery of two places which, for their calling of islands-convents, had for centuries hosted diverse monastic orders that were, in silence and piece of the harmonious and verdant lagoon, rediscovering and oasis of tranquillity, ideal for their necessary seclusion from the world: the island of San Servolo, today headquarters of Venice International University and the island of S. Lazzaro degli Armeni, still occupied by the founding order.From Lido to Cà Roman
This itinerary between sea and lagoon, between history and environment, to be done by bicycle along the narrow strip of sand of the coast that separates Venice and its lagoon from the Adriatic sea, from velvet beaches to liberty-style villas of Lido, from fishermen villages in Pellestrina and in San Pietro in Volta until naturalistic oasis of Ca’ Roman, last stage before meeting Chioggia and its lagoon.
San Francesco del Deserto
This itinerary will lead you on discovery of the green conventual complex of the island of San Francesco del Deserto, a tiny island not far away from Burano and Sant'Erasmo and with its gardens and its secret vegetable gardens it today represents a small hermitage of piece and silence amidst north lagoon of Venice.
Salt water gardens, ghebi and barene
The first stop of the itinerary is St Erasmo, an island of ancient farm and fishing tradition. Before the building of two jetties at the end of the 19th century brought a sound change of the morphology of the lagoon inlets, the island marked the boundary between the lagoon and the sea, as shown by the still existing signs. In the 19th century Massimilana Tower was built.
The north of the lagoon
Fish farms, lakes, salt marshes and ghebi (small canals in the salt marshes), with their particular vegetation and variety of fauna, are a source of beauty that has not been yet evaluated as it should and that offers new perspectives of tourist development, away from the traditional itineraries and aimed to a sensible use of natural resources through mild and controlled intervention in respect of ecological balance and according to the knowledge and defence of the environment.
Lagoon archaeology, ancient fortresses and salt gardens
The itinerary winds its way through islands that played important economic and social roles in the past. The explanations of the guide along the whole itinerary help grasp the natural and historical value of this part of the lagoon.
The main destinations of this itinerary are two islands: Lazzaretto Nuovo and St Erasmo.
Treporti, Lio Piccolo and Saccagnana
For nature lovers, this area of the north lagoon constitutes a journey of great charm, rich with hidden and solitary corners, amongst picturesque vegetable gardens that are alternated with sandbanks and fishing valleys, through small rural villages of Treporti, Le Mesole, Lio Piccolo and Saccagnana, on the discovery of unusual and suggestive landscapes that become privileged places to discreetly observed flora and fauna of the lagoon.
Visit Mestre’s forts
Mestre’s defence forts were built at the end of the eighteenth and the beginning of the nineteenth centuries. Visiting them is a chance to get off the beaten track, to see a part of Venice that is usually forgotten. It exhibits both historical, architectural and botanical aspects of Venice rarely seen by tourists.
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