Spring in the Lagoon and the Lagoon in Autumn
The Municipality of Marano promotes and organises two events when visitors can spend a whole day discovering the historical-architectural heritage and natural beauty offered by this small town in Friuli: “Primavera in Laguna” (“Spring in the Lagoon”) and “Laguna d’Autunno” (“Lagoon in Autumn”).
These events take place every Sunday in the months of April/May and in September/October, with small changes each year to the Sundays planned for the event. The programme for the day, which may be subject to change from year to year, is organised as follows:
Departure at 10.30 am from the Visitor Centre in the “Canal Novo Valley” nature reserve. From here, the guided tour of the “Ancient Fortress” historic centre begins, accompanied by accredited historical-tourist guides. Participants visit the remains of the ancient Venetian fortress, the square, the tower and a number of palaces, focusing on all the details that give an insight into the history of this small town, such as the bas-reliefs, stone faces, coats of arms and busts of the superintendents found in certain buildings in the historic centre and whose silent presence bears witness to the era when the Serenissima ruled here.
The visit then moves on to the Lagoon Archaeological Museum to explore centuries’ worth of artefacts dating from prehistoric times through to the modern day. Children can enjoy a range of activities organised alongside the main visit, with a series of educational games designed to make the museum just as appealing for younger visitors.
After lunch, at 14.45, participants once again meet up with the guide at the Visitor Centre of the “Canal Novo Valley” nature reserve: this centre, made up of buildings created in line with the traditional local fishermen’s huts (“casoni”), transforms into an “environmental training ground” for visitors – the ideal place to illustrate the nature that they’ll experience during their next outing. From here, at around 16.00, visitors walk to the port of Marano, where they head off on a boat trip accompanied by a nature expert. The boat travels along the lagoon canals, reaching the “Foci dello Stella” regional nature reserve.
The boat trip allows visitors to immerse themselves in the Marano lagoon, an immense stretch of salt water between the land and the sea and one of Italy’s most valued natural environments, boasting exceptional bird life that reflects the incredible and delicate ecosystem here – a natural area under protection. In fact, there are numerous species and quantities of birds that live in and bring life to this marshy environment throughout the year. Many stay here during migration, many spend the winter here and others find this to be the ideal habitat for nesting.
In the lagoon’s nature reserves, where traditional huts and valleys outline the canals between sluices, embankments, mooring posts, mudflats and salt marshes, you can see geese, coots, mallards, woodcocks, ducks, herons and marsh harriers.
Return to the port at 19.00.
For information and tickets, please contact the Visitor Centre at the “Canal Novo Valley” Nature Reserve:
tel. +39 0431 67551