The Botanical Garden of Porto Caleri

The Po Delta Park environment's in a single walk

• Departure: Parcheggio Località Porto Caleri, Rosolina Mare (Rosolina)
• Arrival: Parcheggio Località Porto Caleri, Rosolina Mare (Rosolina)
• Duration: 2 hour/s
• Difficulty Level: easy, ring tour
• Involved Municipalities: Rosolina

Located in the southernmost corner of the Caleri peninsula, which separates the sea from the Caleri lagoon, the Garden, which covers a surface of 44 hectares, is characterized by the presence of a large number of habitats, ranging from the lagoon to the dunes and the beach. The flora includes a wide range of species, including some rare endemic ones, such as Centaurea tommasinii and saltwort. These hardly altered environments host a large number of animals: among the avian species, the elusive goatsucker and the colourful bee-eater deserve mentioning; among amphibians, the extremely rare spadefoot toad, which is only present in this Garden in the whole of the region Veneto; among reptiles. European pond turtles should not be forgotten.

From the parking, on the right, after a brief path we get to the Visitor Center we enter in the first route: The shade of the wood, in which cluster pine is predominant, is particularly pleasant, especially in summertime. In the underwood there are many bushes, including brambles and asparaguses. If you turn left at the first crossroads, an overhead walkway makes it possible to walk around a pond which hosts a large number of amphibian, avian and reptile species. If you walk silently, it is easy to spot pond turtles, which may lie in the sun on a tree stump. As you walk down the path, it is possible to distinguish the oldest areas of the wood, where the presence of holm-oaks in the underwood, sometimes in well-developed groups, suggests what the future evolution of the pine grove will be like.The second step of the route crosses the rarest and most important environments in the Botanic Garden, from a naturalistic point of view: the dunes, with their peculiar ecosystems, from the waterline to the innermost stable dunes. The path starts at the pine grove, but quite soon a panoramic wooden walkway will lead visitors to the thickets. With one glance, you may catch a glimpse of the gradual passage from thickets to sea, with all the relative changes of colours, from dark green junipers to silver green of ammophila heads, to the white colour of the sand on the waterline. A comfortable unsurfaced road leads to a long overhead walkway, from where you can enjoy a unique view of the typical sea water vegetation. The observatory makes it possible to stop and watch the many birds which take up their abode in the lagoon. As you leave through the walkway, the gradual rising of the ground is shown by the presence of some junipers. As you go back to the road, a little bridge makes it possible to cross the sandbank stream (ghebo), thus fully walking around the sandbank. At the end of the path, visitors may quickly reach the starting point or turning to the left, the car park at the entrance, without getting to the Visit Centre again.