Please enable JS and disable any ad blocker which has always been a pioneer in renewable energy continues to innovate with BESS (Battery Energy Storage Systems) Enel is leading this revolution with advanced projects both nationally and internationally thereby contributing to Grid stabilization and decarbonization The Po River Delta region holds surprising finds from architectural treasures to wildlife wonders and a community of barrier-breaking women fishers In the shallow waters and knotty reed thickets visitors look for purple herons and pink flamingos just two of the 360 bird species that flock to the country’s only delta and largest wetland They also catch another sight—local women wading in the water pulling up rascas (a type of rake with a net) which they use to catch clams (From left) Chiara Vallati stands with her aunt Giovanna Tessarin and her mother Barbara Tessarin who all work together in the fishing industry Chiara studied to become a chef but joined the family business because the pandemic prevented her from finding a restaurant job.While nature lovers know about the area’s natural treasures who have been contributing to the local economy for decades in a traditionally male-dominated profession Photographer Chiara Negrello wanted to change that with a series of photographs documenting their daily lives Born and raised less than a two-hour drive from the reserve Negrello followed the women for months as they fished these waters daily from dawn to dusk Her photos defy the stereotype that often sees Italian women solely as caregivers raising families and managing households “The story of these women is an example of a type of feminism that doesn’t shout and that came about as a natural process of integration,” Negrello explains I hope to recognize the value and power of the small revolution they have brought and silently keep bringing every day within the Po Delta.” sleepy fishing villages and historic cities scattered throughout the region are poised for exploration Visitors typically set up home base in cities like Comacchio and Ferrara whose close proximity to the delta make it easy to plan wildlife viewing day trips women have been helping to boost the industry choosing a profession that for generations was considered a “man’s job.” On tours visitors learn about this history and meet the women who was born and raised in Porto Tolle and has dedicated 32 years of her life to aquafarming Early morning illuminates the wetlands in Porto Tolle.Geese roam the banks of the Porto Tolle river one of many rivers that flow through the delta.Pizzo didn’t start out in the fishing business she—like many women in the area—worked in the textile industry That was life in our corner of the world since the end of World War II,” says Luciano Chiereghin a historian with the Delta Research and Documentation Center in Porto Tolle (These women are rocking the boat in the sport of outrigger canoe.) But all that changed in the 1980s when many textile factories The delta region suffered a brief economic fallout and the majority of women abruptly lost their livelihoods local businesses found a way to absorb the textile industry’s collapse by importing the Manila clam a Philippine variety that proved to be much more hardy than the local species in the delta’s aquafarms much of Porto Tolle’s economy is based on fishing for clams which are sent to restaurants and stores in Italy and throughout Europe.Giovanna Pizzo puts perfume on Pizzo enjoys wearing earrings when she’s fishing and matches them to her outfits.Early morning light creates soft shadows against a house in Scardovari village near Sacca di Scardovari Park.Oscarina Soncin prepares a snack for her granddaughter The two share a close bond.Alessia Turri sits with her grandmother Maria Rosa Turri below a picture of Alessia as an infant with her parents The two live and work together in the Po Delta after her husband died.Fishing for empowermentAs the Manila clam thrived While many simply joined their husbands in the family business says her friends and family did not support her new career she had to face the sometimes harsh elements of the daily year-round profession and the physical strain of handling heavy tools alone Pizzo says she stepped into her fishing boots every day and never asked for help you don’t have the same strength of a man for this job,’” she remembers but I think they are finally realizing we are no less capable [than] our male counterparts.” Murals on a house in Scardovari village depict a compass rose and the sun and moon.Alessia Turri looks out at the delta waters while working with her grandmother in Goro on March 31 Many young people like Alessia join the fishing industry shortly after finishing high school.Oscarina Soncin pulls her fishing boat so can adjust its location without turning on the engine Fishing on the delta is a physically demanding job.Inspired by Pizzo and other women The 53-year-old says that for her the career change wasn’t a matter of ideology “I don’t feel like a feminist or disrupter,” she says “What I love about this job is the constant proximity to nature and having a front-row view on the Po waters every single morning.” More visitors are becoming enchanted with this view boosted last year by pandemic travelers looking for outdoor diversions within the country Tour operators take the opportunity to encourage slow and sustainable tourism practices For instance, Delta Po Experience offers outings in electric boats and on hydrobikes as well as bird-watching walks along riverbanks visitors learn about the reserve’s widely varying habitats and species “We try to stress the importance of the environmental history of the Po and how communities like these aquafarmers are trying to preserve the waters,” says Sandro Vidali Pizzo and Soncin say they talk about the low-environmental impact methods they use to harvest their catch The women say connecting with visitors is one way to give back to the land that has given them but because we love spending time immersed in this nature,” says Soncin we try to transfer that feeling of freedom it brings us to stay in the sunrise serenity of the Po Delta.” Stefania D’Ignoti is a writer based in Italy. Follow her travels on Twitter Chiara Negrello is a photojournalist based in Florence, Italy. Her work focuses on everyday life as a lens to explore social issues. Follow her on Instagram. Stefania D’Ignoti is a writer based in Italy. Follow her travels on Twitter Chiara Negrello is a photojournalist based in Florence, Italy. Her work focuses on everyday life as a lens to explore social issues. Follow her on Instagram Sixty years after fatal floods and subsidence halted gas extraction in the Po delta region politicians are once again eyeing methane reserves But at what cost to one of the Mediterranean’s largest wetlands and the people who live there marshes and reed beds that have created a true natural labyrinth it soon becomes obvious that something is not right: houses and fields are all lower than the road protected by embankments about four metres high a strip of land between the Po delta and the Adriatic Sea has long suffered the consequences of subsidence which is why the practice was banned by the government in 1961 Before it did so, there was Batteria – an island that no longer exists Covering almost 300 hectares (740 acres) in the Po delta rice fields and lagoons for cultivating fish a storm came in off the Adriatic Sea and Batteria was gone Natale Mantovan pointing out the sunken buildings of Batteria island Photograph: Marta Clinco/The Guardian“If you want to see Batteria it’s down here three metres under water,” says Natale Mantovan as he stops his boat near some semi-submerged buildings “Twenty of us lived on the island and 1,500 worked there I pass only a few other fishermen in search of eels and mullet.” Over the centuries, Batteria had been affected by subsidence It is not uncommon in sedimentary soils but in Batteria’s case the process was accelerated by the extraction of methane gas Thanks to the barriers we can live here but if the sea rises we’ll have to leaveMoreno Gasparini is rich in methane: “We have always known that this is an area rich in gas you just need to make a hole in a ditch and the brackish water comes out,” says Vanni Destro a retired railway worker and member of the Polesine No Drills Committee The first wells were built in 1935 and, by 1959, there were 1,424 The extraction process draws gas and salt water from the subsoil and then separates the two The problem with taking large amounts of water from underneath the soil is that it makes the ground – that already has a tendency to sink – even more unstable Caloi urged the authorities to close the wells The government followed the advice, but it wasn’t the end of the story. The rate of subsidence simply slowed down. “It’s not enough to turn everything off, there’s a huge driving force that goes on for 30 to 40 years,” says Giancarlo Mantovani, an engineer heading the Consorzio di Bonifica a public body that manages reclamation works in the Po delta “Since they closed the wells we have dropped by a further two-and-a-half metres.” The Po delta from the air showing how vulnerable the remaining land is to subsidence and flooding Photograph: Marta Clinco and Andrea Lops/The GuardianIf the area is still suffering from the effects of past gas extraction it raises the question why Italy’s government has decided to resume the practice after 60 years The war in Ukraine has played a part. Italy used to rely on Russian gas and is trying to boost its domestic production in an effort to increase its energy security. In her 2022 inauguration speech, Italy’s prime minister Giorgia Meloni said: “Our seas have gas deposits that we have a duty to exploit.” The proposed new wells in Polesine will be built in the sea (previously they were on land), but they are close to the coast. Offshore wells so near the coast have been demonstrated to affect subsidence in adjacent land, according to Mantovani. “A drilling station in front of Lido di Dante, near Ravenna [further south] caused the ground to sink by one-and-a-half metres,” he says A former methane gas extraction plant in Polesine. Photograph: Marta Clinco/The GuardianEnvironmental groups strongly oppose the project. They argue that authorities are risking the environment for a minimal amount of gas “We are talking about a total of almost 7bn cubic metres of gas – at the rate of one-and-a-half billion per year,” says Giorgio Crepaldi It’s a fraction of Italy’s annual consumption of 70bn cubic metres “The government just wants to show they are doing something about the rise in energy costs but with no regard for the local populations.” Local politicians also oppose it, including Veneto governor Luca Zaia, a key member of the rightwing League party, the main political ally of Meloni’s Brothers of Italy. Moreno Gasparini, the mayor of the small town of Loreo and president of the Veneto regional park of the Po delta, also a conservative is another of the project’s staunch opponents “It would be detrimental to the territory,” he says Thanks to the barriers we can live here but if the sea rises we’ll have to leave.” Gasparini is ready to fight the Veneto region convened a panel of experts to study the situation They issued a report stating that there was not enough information to determine the impact the drilling would have on nearby areas and concluded that “out of caution One of the experts, urban planner Francesco Musco is one of the largest wetland areas in the Mediterranean: “Do we want to extract or do we want to preserve?” Then there are economic considerations: “This could jeopardise fishing and tourism despite the opposition and the negative report seems determined to go ahead with the extraction An abandoned sunken building near Batteria island Photograph: Marta Clinco/The GuardianCrepaldi thinks the government should learn from history “I grew up here and one of my earliest memories is from when I was three when soldiers were driving around telling people to leave their homes because they were expecting a flood,” he says “Haven’t episodes like that taught us anything?” by /// April 14 they shape the lives of the people around them 2020_01 – Il filo e il fiume – © Paolo SImonazzi 2016_01 – Il filo e il fiume – © Paolo SImonazzi 2019_01 – Il filo e il fiume – © Paolo SImonazzi 2018 copia_01 – Il filo e il fiume – © Paolo SImonazzi 2015_01 – Il filo e il fiume – © Paolo SImonazzi 2013_01 – Il filo e il fiume – © Paolo SImonazzi 2018_01 – Il filo e il fiume – © Paolo SImonazzi 2017_01 – Il filo e il fiume – © Paolo SImonazzi Castello di Montechiarugolo – Castelli del Ducato – Emilia in his critical contribution to the catalogue (published by Silvana Editoriale) invites us to listen to “a high-fidelity recording of the feeble song of a supra-territorial essence that challenges political geography clinging as it does to the wobbly waterline for hundreds of kilometres” Softly and without emphasis the images by Simonazzi transport us through the territories where the river Po flows people and events thanks to an unconventional framing His shots depict the life with a disarming It’s explored “by “subtraction,” usually excluding the very image of water” in order to “try to investigate how far the river’s identity can intrude into the “hinterland” Simonazzi is inspired by the American photographer Alec Soth’s Sleeping by the Mississippi a 2004 survey carried out along the course of the biggest river basin of North America A book and an exhibition dealing with the Po river remind us that Italy Emilia Romagna and the other regions bathed by this river have made history and that their traditions still bear the distinguishing traits of our daily life The exhibition is curated by Ilaria Campioli and Andrea Tinterri with the support of the Associazione Bondeno Cultura (ABC) with the patronage and in collaboration with the Municipality of Parma within the context of Parma Capitale della Cultura 2020-21 2018 copia_01 - Il filo e il fiume - © Paolo SImonazzi 2018_01 - Il filo e il fiume - © Paolo SImonazzi there is plenty of material for a nice day with a photographic and historical itinerary with maybe a special trophy: a selfie with the ghost by /// July 27 by /// October 22 by /// October 17 an email (in Italian) with selected contents and upcoming events by /// February 4 by /// August 17 by /// February 8 by /// November 26 For information, contact us: inemiliaromagna@aptservizi.com land of agri-food excellence with a European sealDouble stop in the province of Rovigo of the lucky virtual “journey” of Veneto Agriculture among the regional agri-food excellences In the spotlight the delicious Cozza di Scardovari and the two thousand-year-old Aglio Bianco Polesano two DOPs of the extraordinary European basket is the country of the European Union to register the largest number of products recognized by the DOP / IGP / TSG marks dominates this prestigious ranking at the national level For our region an important contribution comes from the province of Rovigo present in this tasty basket with five products: Rice Delta del Po PGI Radicchio di Chioggia PGI (interprovincial production) Cozza di Scardovari DOP and the White Garlic of Polesano DOP It is on these last two products that this week’s insights of VenetoAgricolturaChannel the successful serial series distributed via Social by the regional agency whose production is concentrated in a limited period of the year (from the end of April to the beginning of June) is produced exclusively in the Municipality of Porto Tolle (Ro) precisely in the area around the Sacca di Scardovari In the focus of Veneto Agriculture (available on the YouTube channel: https://cutt.ly/LcVMvV7) the president of the Consorzio di Tutela recalls that the first cooperative for the processing of mussels was born here even in 1936 “From then – underlines Mancin – a long way has been made: recognition of the Protected Designation of Origin by the European Union in 2013; marketing of the product throughout Italy and also abroad; recognition of the very high quality of this sweet and tender mussel by the greatest international chefs “ a delicacy of our Venetian table that has been able to establish itself well beyond regional borders and overcome this difficult moment due to the prolonged closure of restaurants due to the Coronavirus pandemic The other finished product this week in the spotlight of VenetoAgricolturaChannel is the White Garlic of Polesano PDO (https://cutt.ly/3cV3muT) “A product – says Massimo Tovo president of the Protection Consortium – that has established itself thanks to the ability of local producers to hand down the ecotype of the precious seed from generation to generation capable of giving life to a completely different type of garlic with an intense and constant aroma that tastes fresh and which is preserved for a long time in a natural way “ A product that today is grown on 150 hectares of land distributed in 29 municipalities in the province of Rovigo The episodes made so far of the “journey” in 39 stages of Veneto Agriculture among the Veneto agri-food denominations are available on the YouTube channel of the regional agency Marcadoc – The hills of Venice deals with tourist cultural and food and wine information of the Marca Trevigiana and the Veneto Italy (Reuters) – The worst drought in 70 years has meant salt water from the Adriatic sea is flowing back into the sluggish Po doing further damage to crops hit by an early summer heatwave The flow of sea water into the Po makes irrigation almost impossible in parts of Italy’s agricultural heartland as it risks burning the already parched crops Some four kilometres from where the Po meets the sea in the small village of Scardovari in northeast Italy waves crash through the anti-salt barriers and push downstream There are parts of the fields with no plants and others where they grow regularly,” said Giancarlo Mantovani director of a group called “Reclaiming the Po” that tries to protect the river “If there is no rain in the next 10 or 15 days the crops that are not yet lost will be gone we are progressively losing the harvest,” he added The Po runs for more than 650 km from west to east across the north of Italy a region which accounts for around a third of the country’s agricultural output The river is suffering the effects of a lack of winter snow compounded by a baking early summer Large areas of sandbanks lie exposed on stretches of the river as the water levels drop and its flow slows making it easier for sea water to encroach walks through a dried out field of soy plants where she works as an agricultural entrepreneur the water flow of the Po has dropped considerably and so it’s not enough to counteract the rising sea water in the river This means that in our (irrigation) channels we have salt water that is not suitable for irrigation,” she said Vidali is also a beekeeper and the drought is also damaging honey production because it means alfalfa and soybean flowers have no nectar for the bees to feed on “I am trying to be optimistic but at the moment when it doesn’t rain and you see the whole year of work lost The outlook is similarly bleak further inland in the province of Pavia where there is simply not enough water available to make up for the lack of rain Walking through one of his dried-out rice fields “Rice is harvested in September and October we still have July and August ahead of us – two hot months – my worry is that if it doesn’t rain…” The lower production this year will impact next year’s supply and the rice used for seeding predicting the crisis caused by this drought would continue for at least two years “I am not saying it’s a catastrophe Powered by PageSuite The May 3 episode of “Chi l'ha visto?” delves into the world of mysteries and truths waiting to be discovered. The controversial figure of self-styled seer Gisella Cardia is the focus of attention, along with the intricate goings-on of Marzia Capezzuti and Greta Spreafico, two cases of missing women which continue to raise questions. The public is invited to actively participate in the investigations, and the broadcast will be visible live and streaming on Rai 3 and RaiPlay. In the episode aired on May 3, "Chi l'ha visto?" devotes ample space to the figure of Gisella Cardia, a woman who claims to have the gift of vision and which has recently returned to being talked about. he attention of the Civitavecchia prosecutor's office focused on his claims, starting an investigation into the abuse of popular gullibility. Despite complaints from former faithful, Cardia insists that will continue to communicate with Our Lady. See this content on Instagram A post shared by Who saw it? – Rai Tre (@chilhavistoraitre) The events of Marzia Capezzuti e Greta Spreafico they return to the screen bringing with them new details and unpublished documents The investigations into Marcia's death continue while the searches of the disappearance of Greta Spreafico in Porto Tolle they still have many open questions that will be explored "Who has seen?" invites viewers to actively collaborate in the search for missing persons by contacting the editorial team to provide referrals and share stories of men and women in need The May 3, 2023 episode will be broadcast on Rai 3 from 21.20 and it will be available in streaming on the RaiPlay platform we earn a commission from qualifying purchases through ticketing links This commission does not entail any additional price for the user.