Lio Piccolo Historical Timeline

Origins

The northern lagoon was settled and worked from the early Middle Ages, and the valli da pesca -- shallow basins closed off with banks and sluices to trap and raise fish -- are a technology of that period still in use.

Turning points

Under the Republic these fishing valleys were valuable property, held by Venetian families and managed carefully; the Palazzo Boldù at Lio Piccolo is the surviving country house of one such family.

Influential people

The hamlet's population has always been tiny -- the people who worked the valli, and little more.

Cultural evolution

Twentieth-century reclamation drained large areas of the surrounding lagoon for farmland, and the road that reaches Lio Piccolo today runs across ground that was formerly water.

Present-day significance

The remaining valli and salt marsh are now recognised as habitat of international importance for birds, and the area draws cyclists and birdwatchers rather than the beach traffic a few kilometres south.