Phaethon and the Tears of Amber
The myth of the Eridanus and the amber of Frattesina
The son of the Sun fell into the Po, and his sisters wept tears of amber. At Frattesina, three thousand years ago, amber really was worked.
All routes
Adria and the Po Delta
From the town that gave the Adriatic its name to the lighthouse where the Po meets the sea. The crypt beneath the cathedral, the chariot tomb with its horses, the cut dug by Venice in 1604 to divert the river, the ancient settlement of San Basilio and the waters of the Sacca degli Scardovari lagoon.
Stops
- 1
Adria Cathedral and the Byzantine Crypt
Two cathedrals and six apostles underground
In Adria two cathedrals face each other a few steps apart. Beneath, a frescoed chapel with six apostles keeps over a thousand years of faith.
Adria Cathedral and the Byzantine Crypt - 2
National Archaeological Museum of Adria
The chariot, the three horses and the town that named a sea
Three harnessed horses and a 3rd-century BC war chariot: in Adria’s museum the Etruscan town that gave the Adriatic its name resurfaces.
National Archaeological Museum of Adria - 3
The Taglio di Porto Viro
The river diverted by the Serenissima
Over four hundred years ago Venice moved the Po with a canal about seven kilometres long. Much of today’s Delta was born of that cut.
The Taglio di Porto Viro - 4
San Basilio
Etruscans, Romans and monks on the ancient dune
A tiny hamlet on an ancient shoreline. Etruscans, Romans and monks passed through here, and one tradition says Dante stopped here too.
San Basilio - 5
Sacca degli Scardovari and the Oasi di Ca’ Mello
The lagoon of mussels and stilt huts
Stilt huts mirrored at sunset, a PDO mussel and an oasis reborn among the reeds: the Sacca degli Scardovari, the watery heart of the Delta.
Sacca degli Scardovari and the Oasi di Ca’ Mello - 6
Punta Maistra Lighthouse
The white tower where the land runs out
At the far end of the Delta, among reed beds and sandy islets, a white tower some 45 metres tall marks where the Po pours into the Adriatic.
Punta Maistra Lighthouse
