Discovering the mouth of the Po: itinerary in the natural park of the Delta, Chioggia and the regional gastronomic traditions.
Take a sunny Saturday in May, put in a handful of kilometers, a Guzzi V7, a Yamaha Ténéré and let's go to the discovery of the natural park of the Po delta.
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Since I live in Toscana, travel by motorcycle it is a discovery behind the other, but the beauty of moving to another region is that you always have support in your hometown, as well as a great excuse to explore the 'back home' wonders that are too often taken for granted.
Bag of the Scardovari
We start from Sottomarina continuing towards Porto Viro, Contarina, Donzella and following the signs for the Sacca degli Scardovari, where we leave the main roads to immerse ourselves in this strip of asphalt that goes into the fields and runs along the canals.
We automatically slow down the pace: the bright green of the grass contrasts with the intense blue of the sky, and the view thus crosses over for km and km interrupted only by large bales of hay.
Advancing along the embankment, we stop to take some photos along the small docks where fishermen leave their boats realizing that it is already time for lunch and hunger begins to be felt.
The pink oysters
We stop on the way at the Marina 70 restaurant, located right along the embankment and offering a magnificent view of the lagoon. Unmissable opportunity to taste the famous ones pink oysters by Tarbouriech.
These are named after one of the most important oyster farmers in the France, Florent Tarbouriech, inventor of the cultivation method based on the perfect balance between the exposure of oysters to the tides and the sun's rays. It is thanks to the meeting with the Polesan entrepreneur Alessio Greguoldo that their cultivation begins in the Sacca di Scarovari, an ideal habitat for oysters. Here they are, in fact, more sheltered than in the Northern seas Europe, so much so that they develop in just one and a half years (compared to the usual three or four) and, thanks to the warm rays of the sun, the shells take on the characteristic pinkish reflection that earned them the nickname of pink oysters.
Raised in picturesque rows suspended over the water, where they alternate periods of immersion with periods of exposure to air, they are worked and cleaned manually one by one in a laborious process before delighting us with their rich and tasty pulp.
Return to Chioggia
Refreshed, we resume the road advancing towards Pila in this peaceful landscape, still devoid of the traffic of the cycle tourists who crowd the area during the summer, guests of the numerous campsites that characterize the area. Also there bike it is the ideal way to fully enjoy these narrow streets surrounded by nature. We also walk along the fishing villages with typical red houses on stilts that seem empty in the afternoon, but in the early morning they are teeming with workers.
We continue along Via delle Valli and head towards Port Caleri e Rosolina Mare before returning a Chioggia, where we will stop for a couple of photos in the lagoon and in front of the famous Bragozzo. This typical boat was popular for fishing in the Adriatic from the end of the eighteenth century to the beginning of the twentieth century thanks to its robustness and at the same time, the flat bottom allowed it to navigate on the shallow lagoon bottoms. Located at the entrance to the city, on the Canal Vena, between Porta Garibaldi and the museum, it is a touch of history that celebrates the traditions and colors of this city.
A slow-paced motorcycle ride, as we like it, to immerse ourselves in the views, always bringing home something new: the important thing is not the odometer but the desire to explore, whether the road is much or little.
By Federica Boscolo (and Thomas)
