Fossalon di Grado: Valle Cavanata and seaside trails
Accommodation in Fossalon Di Grado
Fossalon di Grado lies within the municipality of Grado and is a fertile agricultural area created through land reclamation in the first half of the 20th century. The landscape is centered around the Valle Cavanata Nature Reserve. The protected area covers 341 hectares, including 67 hectares of sea, and was established in 1996. The Valle Cavanata is a wetland of international importance under the Ramsar Convention and is part of the Natura 2000 network both as a Site of Community Importance and as a Special Protection Area.
File:Parrocchia di San Marco Evangelista, Fossalon di Grado.jpg
Photo: Đuro Jiří via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Water areas, canals and birdwatching
The Valle Cavanata includes a Valle da pesca with water areas and canals. Periodically flooded sandbanks and small islands separate the individual areas from one another. Along the approximately 1,800-metre-long Percorso della valle, you can observe birds at the Osservatorio Sabbia. The trail begins in the courtyard of the visitor centre and runs along the northern part of the Valle da pesca, in the opposite direction from the FVG 2 cycle path coming from Grado.
The Valle Cavanata Regional Nature Reserve has four visitor trails: Bosco Averto, Centro visite, del mare and della valle. The Percorso del Bosco Averto runs along the dense Averto forest, which consists predominantly of elm trees. It provides shelter for deer and serves as a refuge for waterfowl. The approximately 500-metre-long Percorso del Centro visite is designed as a walking trail and has two observation posts. Binoculars can be borrowed free of charge at the visitor centre.
Exploring on foot and by bicycle
The Percorso del mare begins at the visitor centre car park and is 3,200 metres long to the gate by the sea. It is preferably used by bicycle. From the sea embankment, on clear days you can see the Gulf of Trieste and part of Istria. The different trail lengths help you organise your time between a short walk, a longer circuit and a bicycle tour.
The fourth stage of the Cammino Via Flavia reaches the seaside area of the Valle Cavanata Regional Nature Reserve via a raised combined cycle and walking path. The Valle Cavanata Nature Reserve is also the starting point for a bicycle tour. To travel to the nature reserve, the FOSSALON Via Grado (Madonnina) bus stop is approximately 150 metres away on foot.
Agriculture and regional cuisine
The farms in Fossalon produce fruit, vegetables and dairy products. Fossalon di Grado hosted the 38th Festa degli Asparagi, where asparagus was celebrated with food, music and tradition. At the Festa degli asparagi di Fossalon, the vegetable could be sampled at food stalls set up especially for the event.
As another natural area in the surrounding region, the Foce dell’Isonzo Nature Reserve includes the Caneo area and Isola della Cona. It extends over 2,400 hectares along the final 15 kilometres of the Isonzo River. This means that different landscapes coexist around Fossalon: the water areas and canals of the Valle Cavanata, the Averto forest, agricultural land and the Isonzo estuary.
A bridge over the Canale di Primero, built after the Second World War, ended Fossalon’s partial isolation from Grado.
To the higher-level travel overview: Grado.
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