Comacchio: mini Venice in the Po Delta

The SS 309, the road from Venice-Mestre to Ravenna, is known as the Strada Romea because it was used by pilgrims to Rome in the Middle Ages. Today it is still an important traffic artery, as a toll-free alternative to the highway from Padua to Bologna. The route is less fast, but much more beautiful.

The Romea runs along the Venetian Lagoon, the fishing town of Chioggia, over numerous tributaries of the Po that flows here into the Adriatic Sea, along the polder landscape of the Grande Bonifica Ferrarese. And also along renowned and busy beaches such as Lido delle Nazioni and Lido degli Estensi and through the Parco Regionale del Delta del Po, a beautiful nature reserve intersected by canals and streams.

On the south side of it, in the province of Ferrara, is Comacchio, a rustic town that was once founded on 13 different islands in the lagoon. With its shallow canals and characteristic arched bridges, Comacchio is known as a (tiny) little Venice.

The most famous bridge is the Trepponti, a complex built in 1634 with 2 towers and 5 arches at the intersection of two canals. The Dom dates from the 18^e century, when Comacchio was still an important regional center of trade, fishing and salt production, but is now disgracefully large for the current mini-town.

The tower next to the cathedral is strangely plump and does not rise above the church. That was not originally the intention, explains an information board. It was planned higher, but the architect had made a mistake in his calculations, so that it collapsed just before completion. A century later, the tower was still built, but with experience, people now stuck to a lower truncated model.

Eel paradise

The lagoon around Comacchio was once a center of eel fishing and is now mainly the domain of fish breeders clams (clams of Venus).

Strolling along the canals in the center you will pass a series of inviting-looking terraces and restaurant boats. Most are well occupied, with visitors from the nearby beaches and cyclists and nature lovers for whom Comacchio is a nice base for day trips in the regional nature reserve.

All dining options serve spaghetti with clams, but the real specialty of Comacchio is still the eel. Because the fish has become scarce in the past 30 years, the large-scale eel catch in the lagoon is a thing of the past.

The eel is taboo for sport fishermen, but a small number of professional fishermen are still allowed to set eel nets in the second half of the year, and there is also farmed eel. Most restaurants therefore still have anguilla alla brace (eel from the grill) are on the menu, accompanied by slices polenta of pairs, the X-shaped sandwiches that are typical of Ferrara and, being rather dry, provide an excellent balance against the fatty eel.

Comacchio is also known for his marinated eel, also eel pickled eels, which in large parts of Italy, especially in Naples, are an indispensable part of the New Year's Eve dinner.

Marinated eel is still produced in Comacchio (and sold for hefty prices), as well as canned sardines and pickled anchovies. You can see how the processing works - a 10-minute walk from the center - in the Manifattura dei Marinati, the museum of eel fishing, which still has a production company attached to it.

Movie posters on the wall remind us that in 1954 Sofia Loren made her first successful film on this same spot, The lady of the fiume.

The threat of the blue crab

In addition to eel and vongole, some restaurants now also offer a new specialty in spring and autumn, the blue swimming crab. Crabs are traditionally caught – and fried – in the lagoon during their shell-changing period: a delicacy known in Venice as tired and in Comacchio as moleche. 

But the small native crabs are now in danger of being driven out by the outsized blue crab native to America. It also occurred in the lagoon before, but in small numbers. This year they have increased exponentially and are wreaking havoc on native crabs, lobsters, shrimps and shellfish, including the vongole which are one of the main sources of income here.

The cause of the crab explosion is likely a combination of 2 factors, both associated with climate change. The blue crab needs warm water to develop and thrives in brackish water.

It now finds an ideal situation in the Po estuary, where the water temperatures this summer have been well above average and where the recent floods in the Romagna have pushed huge amounts of fresh water into the lagoon.

The only positive aspect is that the blue crab also tastes good. Ironically, they are therefore in North America where soft shelled crabs regarded as a delicacy, has almost been eradicated, while it is now a plague in Italy.

Unique Roman ship

In 1980, in a drainage channel just outside Comacchio, the remains of a 20-meter long Roman ship were found, which was wrecked here around the year 100. It then became covered in mud, so the boat and its cargo are exceptionally well preserved.

The ship itself, which was excavated in 1988-89, is currently being restored, but the cargo is now the main dish from the Museo Delta Antico, the archaeological museum in the center of Comacchio.

Dozens of amphorae, rods of lead, clothing, soldiers' boots, tools, a sword, eating utensils and 6 offerings in the form of miniature temples together give a gripping picture of daily life on board a Roman trading vessel.

Another section is devoted to the Etruscan port city of Spina, located near the modern Comacchio of the 7^e to the 3^e century BC was an important point of connection between the Greek and Italian worlds.

Decades of excavation have yielded an enormous amount of archaeological material, including many Greek vases, some of which are now displayed in the museum. The Museo Delta Antico opened in 2017 in the monumental former (18^ecentury) Villa Bellini hospital.

It is modern in design, with bright, diffusely lit display cases and explanatory texts and video illustrations in Italian and English. However, the number of visitors does not seem large and that is a pity: if you come to Comacchio, do not miss this immersion in antiquity!

The beautiful Abbey of Pomposa

A few kilometers away, in the municipality of Codigoro, next to the Strada Romea, the ancient pilgrimage road, nestled in the greenery is one of the most beautiful medieval monuments in Italy, the complex of the Pomposa.

This one between 8^e and the 11^e century Benedictine abbey reached its peak shortly after the year 1000, when it was led by abbot Guido d'Arezzo, the inventor of musical notation. At the end of the Middle Ages it gradually fell into disrepair.

The swampy area was ravaged by malaria and became depopulated and the Pomposa also emptied. But in the last century, the marshes were reclaimed, the malaria disappeared and the abbey, now reduced to a stable, was restored, with its wonderfully well-preserved frescoes also restored to their former glory.

A tour of the Pomposa leads through the refectory – with of course a fresco of the Last Supper – and the chapter of the monastery to the church, which makes an overwhelming impression upon entering.

Brightly colored frescoes completely cover the walls with the Bible story in 3 superimposed graphic novels. The upper cycle tells the Old Testament, the middle the New and the lower cycle is devoted to the Apocalypse. The wall of the entrance depicts the Last Judgment, including a beautiful horror version of the devil incarnate.

Most of the frescoes date from the 14^e century, but the restoration also includes Byzantine-looking portraits of saints from the 10^e century found. Other periods are also represented: the holy water font is Romanesque from the 12^e century, the beautiful mosaic floor dates from the 6^e to the 12^e century and fragments of ancient Roman buildings have been reused in the walls and columns.

Some of these are now displayed in a small museum on the top floor of the monastery that was once the sleeping quarters of the monks. In short, in the Pomposa you get all the Middle Ages together!

Practical information Comacchio

• Manifattura dei Marinari, Via Mazzini 200 Comacchio: www.podeltatourism.it
• Delta Antico Museum, Via Agatopisto 2 Comacchio: www.museodeltaantico.com
• Abbey of Pomposa, Via Pomposa Centro 12: www.codigoro.comune.codigoro.fe.it en www.musei.emiliaromagna.beniculturali.it.
• Next to the abbey is a spacious car park with a few souvenir tents and a restaurant.

Stay in Comacchio

You can eat eel in Comacchio at about ten restaurants, of which Locanda La Comacina en Trattoria Vasco e Giulia may be the best known.

A pleasant B&B in Comacchio At the Bridge, right in the center, with space for the car. The center is car-free, but guests of Al Ponticello can obtain digital dispensation for arrival and departure.

Do you prefer to sleep in a hotel? There are plenty of those in Comacchio. Look here for the best offers.

Are you with the camper? There are 2 motorhome pitches in the town of Comacchio: Motorhome Parking Area Cavallari en Stop Camper Comacchio.

Directly on the Adriatic coast you can also camp at the campsite during the season. Camping near Comacchio are for example Holiday Village Florence, Camping Anchora en Spiaggia e Mare. Also a little further away from Comacchio you have countless options for staying or camping.