An itinerary in the Venice Lagoon with some advice on what to do and where to go and also, why not, on where to sleep.
After months during which for various reasons I heard about Lio Piccolo almost every day ... finally, in September, I too had the opportunity to visit thishidden and little known corner of the North Lagoon. The Venetian lagoon is so wide and particular that it has created a great variety of very interesting landscape and natural situations, its northern extremity is one of these and includes the best known islands of Murano, Burano and Torcello, others however large and important such as Sant 'Erasmus.
Lio Piccolo, on the other hand, together with Lio Maggiore, is located right in the area where earth and water are confused and the lagoon gives way to the towns that lie on its borders such as Jesolo and San Donà di Piave. Both of these “islands” are connected to the mainland by thin strips of land that allow them to be easily reached on foot or by other means. Here, in case you want to stop, you can stay at the Locanda al Piave.
If you want to continue instead, always armed with a bicycle, you can do as we are, which we are left from Cavallino, a town located in the area that from Jesolo reaches Punta Sabbioni at the end of the lagoon, where there is also the Lido port, an area of ​​campsites and beaches that in summer is crowded with tourists from northern Europe or the Venetian mainland.
This strip of land is the perfect place to start discovering this area that most people know practically nothing about. You can start with a ride along via Fausta, flanked by one bicycle path, or along the more scenic (but actually less pleasant and safe because it is busy and without space dedicated to bicycles) via Pordelio.
By choosing this last itinerary you can have a first glimpse of the lagoon with its placid water. An alternative possibility may also be to only partially cover the more panoramic roadto exploiting one of the roads that connect these two paths, immersing oneself between cultivated fields and vegetable gardens.
Arrived at the level of Ca 'Savio, cross the bridge over the Saccagnana Canal and then the center of Treporti until you reach Via di Lio Piccolo where a country road opens up that offers an unbeatable view: to the right and left only water, sandbanks and fishing valleys. A relaxing ride, which allows you to discover a glimpse of the lagoon immersed in silence, interrupted only by the cry of some bird.
During the summer, between spring and summer, in these expanses of water you can be lucky enough to find many elegant pink flamingos. In a short time you arrive at the village of Lio Piccolo, a few buildings scattered along the road, a tall and slender bell tower dating back to the early 900s, recently restored, from the top of which you can enjoy a wonderful view and a small church dedicated to the Madonna della Neve .
Not far from here there is an area used for mooring boats and, if you want to spend a whole day immersed in tranquility, you can rent a small boat on which to load the bikes and reach Lio Maggiore by water. In some seasons there are also organized itineraries that include this route, but usually in the opposite direction.
Once a Lio Maggiore, after having lunch in the farmhouse that is located here, overlooking the lagoon and immersed in an almost surreal tranquility, we also visited the fishing valley that is nearby. The fishing valleys they are areas of the Venetian Lagoon, delimited by embankments, which are used for a particular and traditional type of intensive fish farming; for some years many of those present in the lagoon can be visited by tourists.
From Lio Maggiore we returned to Cavallino by boat, otherwise it is possible continue pedaling and "close the circle" by returning directly by bike, using the road connecting the island to the mainland.
