Barene and Palu’. A travelling seminar amidst restless bodies of land and water

As part of the “Nature Speaks” initiative, we will be exploring the salt marshes and the Venice lagoon on a field trip seminar, led by Nadia Breda, Associate Professor of Cultural Anthropology at the University of Florence and one of Italy’s leading experts in anthropological studies of wetlands, and local expert Tito Pamio.

The seminar will address the themes of the recognition, conservation and protection of Veneto’s wetlands in the face of the challenges posed by infrastructure development and the environmental and climate crises.

The world’s wetlands are rapidly disappearing due to erosion, pollution and land reclamation projects aimed at making the land more productive (from an anthropocentric perspective). In the Veneto region, there are several examples of wetlands, such as barene (salt marshes) and palù. The Campalto salt marsh system, the destination of the seminar, stretches between the dock and Marco Polo Airport, and is currently the only salt marsh system accessible on foot in the Venetian hinterland. 

Palù are marshy and swampy areas that have developed in symbiosis with human agricultural activities in Veneto and Friuli, yet their hydrogeological characteristics and cultural features extend beyond agricultural use. To understand the palù, one must view the landscape from a different perspective, identifying the non-agricultural elements and structures of the area – which, although they were and are present, remain almost invisible.

The event will take place along the "Passeggiata delle Barene" in Campalto. The meeting point is at 10.30 am at the Campalto dock, opposite the Trattoria al Passo.

The meeting point can be reached from Venice by taking the 10:10am bus number 5 towards the airport, getting off at the Sabbadino Passo Campalto stop.

The event will take place at low tide, but we still recommend wearing rubber boots to walk on the salt marshes, or (if these are not available) waterproof walking shoes.

The salt marshes are a delicate ecosystem. For safety reasons and to protect the surrounding environment, participants need to follow the guides’ instructions carefully to avoid any damage, risk or inconvenience during the excursion.

Nadia Breda graduated in Ethnology from Ca’ Foscari University of Venice, studied anthropology at the École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales in Paris and Toulouse, and obtained her PhD in Ethno-anthropological Sciences from Sapienza University of Rome. She is an associate professor of Cultural and Environmental Anthropology at the University of Florence, where she teaches and conducts research on the environment, local knowledge and the relationship between nature and cultures. She is currently conducting anthropological research in Mongolia and directs the naMec Centre for Mongolian Studies. Nadia Breda is one of Italy’s leading experts in anthropological studies of wetlands and is the author of the essay “Palù. Restless Landscapes between Nature and Culture” (Cierre, Edizioni Canova 2001).
 

Tito Pamio, born in the 1940s on the waterways of the lagoon’s outer reaches, is a local expert who has lived in Campalto for decades. In the 1980s, he and his wife Carmela founded the canoeing association L’Arcobaleno, through which he has helped raise local awareness of issues relating to the protection of the lagoon, focusing in particular on the area’s salt marshes.