Golena Oasis of Ca’ Pisani

❝Along the strong currents of the Maistra River, a branch of the Po, the Ca’ Pisani floodplains have been shaped by human projects for centuries. Here, in a series of important wetland environments, birds visiting the Delta take refuge in nesting habitats. Not far from these hotspots of biodiversity, fishing valleys mark out millenia-old practices typical of fishing villages’ symbiosis between humans and rivers.❞

The Ca' Pisani floodplain covers an area of about 43 hectares and includes a suggestive fluvial area on the left bank of the Po di Maistra, some wetlands contoured by inner banks, about 4 hectares of wooded land (mainly willows) and some areas that were once cultivated but have today been left uncultivated and reclaimed by nature.
The area was purchased in 1997 by the Veneto Region thanks to a grant from the European Community (LIFE Program) in order to renaturalize this river area. Before the purchase by the region, the floodplain was a typical example of a private fishing valley, used for the breeding of mullets, sea bass and eels. Today the floodplain area is managed by the Regional Forest Service in collaboration with the Veneto Regional Park of the Po Delta.
Thanks to European funds, several nature trails have been created in the area, complete with birdwatching observatories. A small visitor centre, built inside a “casone” (a traditional house from the Veneto area), illustrates the characteristics of the place. Outside, some structures once used for traditional river fishing have been reconstructed for educational purposes.
The wetland area of Ca' Pisani today represents an important amphibious habitat, as demonstrated by the presence of a rich variety of birdlife that includes the little egret (Egretta garzetta), the grey heron (Ardea cinerea), the great egret (Egretta alba), the purple heron (Ardea purpurea), the squacco heron (Ardeola ralloides), the black-winged stilt (Himantopus himantopus), the  European bee-eater (Merops apiaster), the great crested grebe (Podiceps cristatus), the black-necked grebe (Podiceps capsicus), western marsh harrier (Circus aeruginosus), the black-crowned night heron (Nycticorax nictycorax), the great spotted woodpecker (Dendrocopus major), the Hoopoe (Upupa epops), the Cetti's warbler (Cettia cetti) and other more common species.
From the vegetational point of view, the area is characterized by the presence of species that are typical of the marsh environment, and by different arboreal specimens. The prevailing species is the common reed (Phragmites australis) which is found alongside several species of herbaceous halophyte. The wooded formations occupy the strip of land that has emerged along the branch of the Po of Maistra. Here the predominant species is the white willow (Salix alba), followed by the poplar (Populus alba), then the precious black alder (Alnus glutinosa), the ash and the oak (Quercus peduncolata). Bastard indigobush (Amorpha fruticosa), locusts and thornless blackberry (Rubus ulmifolius) are very common.