Polesine

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Polesine is a geographic area corresponding with the Province of Rovigo, in the north-east of Italy. It is located approximately 40-km south of Padua, between Adige and Po, the two biggest rivers in Italy. The eastern portion of Polesine corresponds to the delta of river Po, and it is constantly expanding eastward because of the detritus sediment phenomenon. It has approximately 220,000 inhabitants).

Polesine borders north with Padua and Venice provinces, south with Ferrara and west with Mantova. In the East it borders with Adriatic Sea (Mar Adriatico in Italian).

The biggest city is Rovigo (52,000 inhabitants), followed by Adria (20,000 people). Other important agricultural centres are Badia Polesine, Arquà Polesine, Porto Viro, Porto Tolle, Loreo, Polesella, Lendinara and Lusia.

The various towns and villages are connected by Transpolesana, a long highway crossing nearly the entire Polesine area. A13 toll motorway passes through the zone, connecting Padua with Bologna. It has some famous holiday villages, as Rosolina Mare, Rosa Pineta, Albarella Island (Isola di Albarella in Italian).

Contents 1 Agriculture highlights 2 The 1951 flood 3 Delta and nature delta park 4 Mythological origins of Polesine 5 Geological formation of the area

[edit] Agriculture highlights

Agriculture thrives in Polesine, particularly the cultivation of sugar beets. Eridania is famous throughout Italy for sugar production and cereals.

[edit] The 1951 flood

A dramatic moment occurred in 1951 for Polesine inhabitants when river PO overflowed compelling 150,000 people to evacuate the entire area.

[edit] Delta and nature delta park

The eastern portion corresponds with the delta of River Po, a large area where the river subdivides into smaller rivers (each with its own name). The delta is also a protected area, because it's a national-legally recognized nature park.

[edit] Mythological origins of Polesine

Polesine's origins are connected with the myth of Phaeton, the young god who drowned with the Sun chariot in the river Eridano (the former name of the river Po). In Crespino, a small village in Polesine, there is a square (the chief one of the town) dedicated to Phaeton, to commemorate the old legend and the oral tradition saying that Phaeton died in the tract of river Po crossing Crespino.

[edit] Geological formation of the area

Actual Polesine territory is, geologically speaking, of recent formation, created by drifts taken by rivers Adige and Po, and subsequently from human modifications. In fact, men reclaimed and decontaminated the area before embanking the biggest waterways.

First origins goes up to the Pliocene epoch. Contemporary to the rising of Alps and Apennine Mountains, the entire Padania was filled by a long inlet (the Adriatic depression) and the seabed of this huge ditch was full of troughs and elevations.

At the end of the last glaciation (10.000 years ago), most of Padania actual territory was just formed. Landscape's last mutation was dued to the raising of the sea level and the ice melting.

In 1604, river Po's natural course was artificially modified and after this work actual delta was formed. Floods frequently happened in Polesine filled the depressions of the area with several bundles of sediments consisting in sand, clay and silt.