Venetian Republic Trail (part)

On this stage that you will overcome by bicycle and then by boat, you will enter in the lagoon towns of Grado and Marano and continue up to the seaside resort of Lignano Sabbiadoro. Transport by boat is a private service upon the order, with the possibility of embarking in Grado, Terzo di Aquileia (mouth of the Ausa River), Maranuo and Lignano Sabbiadoro. However, you may choose also another possibility: take the cycling route around the Marano Lagoon, passing important historical places. It takes you through Aquileia, a magical archaeological site, a rich emporium in the Roman Era and administrative centre in the period X Regio (Venetia et Histria). The town got an important role at the beginning of the Christian period and became the largest medieval diocese (Aquileia patriarchy). Today, due to an extraordinary value of archaeological findings and Early Christian mosaics in the Basilica of the Assumption, which represent an important milestone in the Italian art history, Aquileia is ranked on the Unesco world cultural heritage list. When you arrive in Cervignano, turn towards west, in direction towards Torviscose, which is an example of rationalism in urbanism in the period of fascism, but you can choose to go the north and follow cycling tourist signs for 10 kilometres. Thus, you cycle to Palmanova, a town surrounded with walls, a masterpiece of the Friulian military architecture: it has a shape of a ninepointed star and a six-angle main square. When entering the town, there is a picturesque settlement Strassoldo, where the Upper and Lower Castle as well as the Church of Saint Mary and Vineis have been preserved. When you set off on the road towards Lignano Sabbiadoro, cross the dried-up landscape and arrive to the centres Marano Lagunare, Precenicco on the Stella River, passing the lagoon up to the known seaside resort.

Description

We leave Grado via a beautiful cycling path built alongside a bridge that crosses the lagoon, continuing all the way to Belvedere, where we join a new bike trail laid out along the former Cervignano–Belvedere railway line. In Aquileia, one of the historical and artistic capitals of Friuli, we park our bikes and relive the charm of history: we stroll through the archaeological site, visit the National Museum, and the Basilica of the Assumption of Mary (Santa Maria Assunta).We return to the cycling path and ride to Cervignano. If time allows, we can make a short detour northwards along the Alpe-Adria bike route, heading toward the village of Strassoldo and the fortified town of Palmanova. We return via the same route and continue effortlessly toward Torviscosa, an urban center that emerged during the Fascist era as industrial production of pulp and synthetic fabrics developed.From here, the route leads us into the Friulian plain, among ditches and canals, past the town of San Giorgio di Nogaro and the village of Carlino. We head south toward the Marano Lagoon and soon arrive in the charming center of Marano Lagunare, where the centuries-old influence of the Venetian Republic is still visible. Among the canals, alleyways, and squares, we can admire the beautiful fishermen’s houses, the loggia, the Palazzo dei Provveditori, and the Millennial Tower (Torre Millenaria).We continue along the magnificent edge of the lagoon, passing through Precenicco and on to the nature reserve at the mouth of the Stella River. Here we turn south toward the lovely peninsula where Lignano Sabbiadoro rises between the sea and the lagoon — a seaside resort that, in the 1960s, became one of the most famous on the Adriatic coast.The scents along this stage are different if we travel by boat: when viewed from the water, the lagoon’s natural beauty becomes even more striking. After an hour of slow sailing, we can immerse ourselves in the silence of the natural surroundings, rich with scents and golden reflections. The boat touches on fishing islands with their characteristic marsh huts. We recommend boarding at the mouth of the Aussa River in the municipality of Terzo di Aquileia, from where you can sail to the tourist center of Lignano Sabbiadoro.