The Scardovari lagoon is an inlet of saltwater located between the mouths of the Po di Gnocca and the Po delle Tolle. The lagoon was formed due to the lack of sediment deposits from three old branches of the river blocked by the Venetians, and from the elongation of the more lateral branches of the Po di Gnocca and the Tolle.
Within this inlet, rare and fascinating aquatic birds coexist, such as herons, spoonbills, grebes, and various shorebirds (toward the scanni by the sea).
Thanks to the particular configuration of the territory, a large part of the population works in the fishing industry, raising mussels (in dialect "pioci") and clams: during your visit, you will see numerous fishermen's huts, typical constructions mostly made of wood, placed on stilts and connected to the bank by walkways, used for processing shellfish and storing work tools.
Starting from Barricata and walking along the bank towards Santa Giulia, after skirting the first part of the lagoon, you will encounter the Ca'Mello Oasis (which was the old mouth of the Po di Camello) with a beautiful equipped path. Continuing, you can see the point where the sea broke through the bank in 1966 (where Marina 70 now stands). Then you will come across the Val Bonello Biotope, what remains of all the valleys that surrounded the lagoon until 1970. The drainage canal near the Biotope was the old branch of the Po della Scoetta.
The last part of the lagoon leads towards the mouth of the Po di Gnocca in one of the most enchanting corners of the entire Delta. Along the way, you will encounter several rice paddies and before heading back up the Po di Gnocca, a rice warehouse in the middle of the water, where once the land was emerged and cultivated. In Santa Giulia, you will find one of the last boat bridges across the branches of the Po.
