44 57'39 .32 "N 12 27'42 .89" E / 44.9609222, 12.4619139

The Po delta in 1568, according to a map of the Museum of Ferrara

Valle Padus (Po delta) as a map of 1570 enriched

The Po delta is the mouth of the River Po and the eastern part of the Po plain bordering the Adriatic Sea ( Italy ) North.

Geography

The Po delta is the part between the outbreak area of water, that is to say, approximately, since Stellata west of Ferrara and Rovigo , where the river splits into several branches, and Coast Adriatic ., including the river Adige in the north and the coastal zone (and swamp), which extends to Ravenna , Cervia and Cesenatico.

Geophysics

There are a million years, the area between the two extreme branches of the fork that has the river, was completely under water. This area should extend well beyond these limits, north to the river Adige , which is only about twenty miles and the south by the river Reno descending from the Apennines in the direction of Bologna , for three rivers Lamone , Montone and Ronco who created the marshes of Ravenna , then by the river Savio and salt marshes of Cervia , which extended up to Cesenatico and the Rubicon.

Ice Age

Geological variations between the tertiary and quaternary

The Po plain , that not later than one million years, was included in a great gulf Upper Adriatic which extended to the Alps and the western Apennines of Liguria , following the great glaciations of the Quaternary was subject alternately, as regards the region Emilia-Romagna , with periods of immersion and submersion during which, in turn, succeeded continental climates and climate-related sea oscillations more or less accentuated by the level of The rhythm of the sea such phenomena or oscillatory eustatic (slow oscillating movements on the continents and seas) causes an accumulation of continental and marine sedimentary formations with a thickness of about 4,000 meters.

At each return to the sea on the lands of the depression of the plain, its depth was always tends to decrease as the compaction of sedimentary material was abundantly compensated by the contribution of new silt brought by rivers. Gradually, the whole basin becomes clogged, and at the end of the last ice age, following the lowering of sea level, submerged lands extending up to the height of Ancona , thus occupying the entire current Adriatic continental shelf. In it the Po was used as a main and received all the rivers of the Apennines and the Alps. Paleolithic people and the Apennines Emilia-Romagna were able to descend into the valley and cross the vast plain stretching to the east of the coastal area of Emilia-Romagna to the slopes of Istria and the Dalmatian.

Successively with the final withdrawal of glaciers 14,000 years ago, the sea returns to its original level. In this final period was the settling of land bordering the lowland and present a great interest in agricultural production in the region beyond the geomorphological research for locating and dating sites primitive men.

The hand of man

The transformation of soil, following the movements of the sea and rivers for millennia, making it difficult to trace prehistoric discovery, except that portion of the Etruscans at Adria (city which gave its name to the Adriatic Sea) , located between the Po and the Adige in the province of Rovigo in Veneto.

Greco-Roman and Etruscan

• The remediation of marsh near Comacchio , mainly that of Trebbi (Valle Trebbi) in 1922 led to the discovery of the necropolis of Spina , built around the ^sixth century BC. BC and evidence of the presence Etruscan who had founded a trading port between the river channels of communication, water and land ( Reno , Po and Adriatic ). During the remediation of marshes in Pega 1954-1960 (Valle Pega) and swamps of Mezzano in 1960 (Valle del Mezzano), other important discoveries were brought to light, now on display at the National Archaeological Museum of Ferrara ) that the Romans settled in this region rich in forests and clay soils.

The discovery of burial grounds in Voghenza (Vicus Habentia) 15 km from Ferrara used to date, thanks to the coins found at the time of Claude ^I. (years 41-54) and I Maximin the Thracian (235-238), that Romans settled in this area ^I. and ^third centuries.

Cutting or centuriation Roman lands south shows clearly the work of the Romans who are used to dry land by digging drainage channels along roads. Besides the numerous monuments erected in the city of Ravenna evidence of their passage and the exceptional work done. The draining of swamps and exploitation of saltworks between Cervia and Cesenatico , planting pine trees in the direction of Ravenna to keep the sand along the coast. The gradual decline of Ravenna favored the development of Ferrara , which was part of the Exarchate of Ravenna and whose name appears as 754.

In the Middle Ages

At that time the Volano Po , passing Ferrara , was the main course until 1152, when the river broke the dam north to the junction of the arm, Ficarolo (Rovogo Province, 20 km west of Ferrara), becoming the current price. With this change of direction, the northern area which hitherto had stabilized, continued his progress in the sea, exacerbated by the opening of "Porto Viro" in 1604 (two centuries in the mouth of the Po of Goro has advanced 20 km or 83 m / year).

Ferrara is in another branch called Primaro Po, which flows into the sea north of Ravenna after flush the town of Argenta. There is some evidence that given the limited means and manpower to fight against sudden changes in nature; flooding and the rapid change in water level would discourage the most.

From the ^seventeenth to nineteenth ^century

Progression and land boundaries in 1600

Map of 1787 showing the afforestation in the delta

Since December 22, 1605, the "Consortium of San Giorgio" has crossed the times and despite legal orders, kept intact its obsession with safeguarding the country. Through dryness and successive agreements, the current subdivision has been extended to 120,000 hectares between the Po Volano north, the Adriatic Sea to the east, south Reno River and the Po Primaro west. Unlike the northern part of the province, the lands that form a single large depression, the territory of "San Giorgio Polesine" does not lend itself to drying before a mechanical lifting water. Water management will come, therefore, first with the departure of the effluent water to higher ground in the bed of large pits hydraulic roamed the area (Trench Porto, Massi of Voghenza) to the mouth end formed by the marshes of Comacchio (Valli di Commacchio). Especially at this time the river Reno flowed directly into the Po and the rivers and streams descending from the Apennines created extensive wetlands along the Primaro, south of Ferrara to Ravenna. Areas formerly named Padus Valley where habitat still existed despite the vagaries of nature.

It was not until the ^eighteenth century that the widening of Cavo Benedettino diverting the course of Reno, Primaro and collecting water from streams, allowed the improvement of the region.

The Industrial Age

Pumping station on the side of Argenta

The uprising mechanical wastewater land below was possible in 1872, built the oldest pumping facility at Marozzo Lagosanto serving bilge Gallar. Until 1930, other facilities came into service for the drainage of nearby basins, by digging, as did the Romans, deep channels and shorelines reaching the height of land to the highest. From there, pumps, driven by steam engines, back water from low areas in the canals that drain into the sea then

So today, Po Volano, Goro and Primaro, rivers Reno and Lemon are all connected by canals that lead into the sea, allowing the drainage of all land except the delta marshes of Comacchio (the largest) and two or three other small marsh and reclaimed land being dedicated to agriculture.

With the recent massive sanitation interventions marshes Mezzano and Pega, conducted by the Agency for Colonization of the Delta of the Po Valley, 20,000 new hectares of cultivable land, increased in 1989 by the Consortium Management.

Regional parks

The problems of ecology and nature conservation have led men to become aware of the environment and to define laws and areas to follow. It is recommended that tourists going north towards Venice , borrowing the "Roma (N309) from Ravenna to Mestre, along the coast and admire the marshes of Comacchio (especially not during summer when the trees are devoid of foliage) and visit the main historic cities (caution: extremely congested road and limited to 50 km / h almost throughout).

Regional Park Delta Po Emilia-Romagna

This is a protected area which covers 52,000 hectares of Emilia-Romagna, which stretches from the Po of Goro and covers the entire history of the Po delta, including at the mouths of rivers Reno, Lamone Bevano. Including among others and brackish wetlands of the Adriatic coast and immediate hinterland: the pocket of Goro, the marshes of Comacchio, Ravenna lands, the salt of Cervia, forests of pine and Argenta Lido Classe di Savio at the mouth of the north of Cervia.

• Inside the park's monuments: the Abbey of Pomposa, the church of San Giorgio, St. Apollinaire in Classe, the hydraulic control channel and the historic centers of Mesola , Comacchio , Ravenna and Cervia.

Regional Park Delta Po Veneto

It extends from the Po of Goro to the river Adige and includes 9 municipalities of the province of Rovigo , with a population of about 73,000 inhabitants within the park boundaries, for 786 km ² and 120 extension km ² of protected area.

The formation of the park is caused by deposition of sediments over a long period, has contributed to the gradual advancement of the coastline. These sediment deposits have accumulated in this direction especially after 1604, when the Venetian Republic was deflected over the north branch of the Po (at Taglio di Po in the vicinity of Adria ), an operation called Taglio di Porto Viro and which, diverting the waters further south to the pocket of Goro , preserved the Venice lagoon from silting.

Park of the Po delta has the largest extension of wetland protected areas in Italy. The flora is varied as to take about a thousand different species. Same comment as regards the fauna , with over 400 different species, among mammals, reptiles, amphibians and fish.

The presence of birds is so revealing, with over 300 species (nesting and hibernation), which makes the Po delta area's largest bird and one of Italian best known in Europe for bird watchers.

Nature Park of the Po delta interregional

Province of Ferrara and seaside resorts

This is the name of the framework law (No. .334 of 1991) which had set for the park that the regions of Veneto and Emilia-Romagna should have been conducted jointly with the Ministry of Environment in territory that extends from Rovigo in Ferrara in correspondence with the mouth of the Po.

Years of controversy and "chatter" had prevented all regional, provincial and municipal concerned to reach an agreement for joint management of the protected area.

The Po delta is an outstanding natural interest, landscape and history, especially since it is part of world heritage of UNESCO , is densely populated and its territory is subject to strong economic interests by the presence, for example, vast areas of fisheries, livestock, crop production of energy and tourism interests.

Economy

Tourism

• Seaside along the coast
• History in the cities of Ferrara , Comacchio , Ravenna

Industry

Agriculture

References

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