MEANDERING SPRING WATERS

(Treviso – Jesolo, 53 km)

The stage of the Green Tour from the March of Treviso to the town on the eastern side of the Sile river mouth can well be said to be one of the most popular routes among European cycling tourists: the pristine river meanders gently and slowly between the lush banks, the riverine fauna is abundant and varied, and one wishes the enchantment never to end.

From the monumental piazza dei Signori, the historical heart of Treviso (km 0.0), you will pedal through the outskirts to Alzaia, the towpath (km 1.1), the start of the “Restera” nature trail along the river. After the picturesque Cimitero dei Burci (km 5.5-6.0), the Barge Graveyard, a pedestrian walkway from which you can gaze in wonder at the old wooden barges, abandoned for decades and now half-sunken and almost swallowed up by nature, you will get to the small town of Casier (km 7.0), with its church square overlooking the river. Along lush river banks flanked by gardens and grand mansions, you go past the hamlet of Lughignano (km 11.4), and the small town of Casale sul Sile. You skirt the town and cross the river Sile on a bridge that has a separate bike and pedestrian walkway (km 16.8), then continue following the meandering river banks until you reach the hamlet of Musestre di Roncade (km 24.0). Just across the river, on the right bank, lies the town of Quarto d’Altino (km 24.5) on the Venice-Trieste railway line (almost all trains have a bike compartment). Continue on the bridge on the right bank of the Sile until you get to the hamlet of Trepalade (km 28.4) then Portegrandi (km 32.3), where the river mouth used to be. Indeed, the Serenissima Republic of Venice understood that the lagoon would be progressively silted over by the river, therefore in the late seventeenth century it decided to divert its course by about 9 km eastwards by digging a canal that runs parallel to the coast – the so-called “Taglio del Sile”, the cut of the Sile. The river now flows in the old bed of the Piave river, which used to flow west of Jesolo but had in its turn been diverted 7 km east to the new mouth of Cortellazzo. The "Cut" is currently flanked by a new cycle path, from which you can enjoy the beautiful sight of the lagoon, a favourite haunt of waterfowl. It is not uncommon to also come across large colonies of pink flamingos that "graze" leisurely, wading through the shallow water a few hundred metres from the cycle path. At the end of the strip you come to the hamlet of Caposile (km 41.8). Continue along the Sile (cycle path along the San Marco embankment, with interesting birding spots over the lagoon) until you come to Torre del Caligo (the "Fog Tower") and shortly after to the town of Jesolo (km 52.4), the end of this stage.

Possible detours

• The section of this stage between Treviso and Quarto d’Altino follows the regional cycle touring itinerary I4 Dolomiti-Mare (Dolomites-Sea, which is also part of the Munich-Venice cycle route). It starts in Dobbiaco, goes over the Cimabanche Pass and follows the "Lunga Via delle Dolomiti" route through Cortina d’Ampezzo down to Calalzo di Cadore. It then continues on to Longarone, Belluno, Vittorio Veneto, Conegliano, the Montello hill, Treviso and Quarto d'Altino, crosses the Boschi di Mestre reforestation project and finally reaches its destination, Venice.

• From Trepalade, a 2 km detour takes you to Altino, the Roman-age Altinum overlooking the lagoon. What is now but a hamlet boasts a glorious past as one of the Roman Empire's most important cities, the end of one of the two branches of Via Claudia Augusta – the other end of which, as we shall see in the next stages, was Ostiglia. This imperial road connected the German Danube to Italy, crossing the Alps at Brenner Pass. In Altino, in addition to the Roman ruins and artefacts in the prestigious national archaeological museum, there is a beautiful nature trail along the Santa Maria canal and the Dese and Zero rivers, which takes you back to Quarto d’Altino – located 4 miles from Altino, as the name points out – along a historical stretch of Via Claudia.

• From Caposile you can cycle about 8 km up the Piave Vecchia to Musile di Piave, then cross the river over to San Donà di Piave, another station on the Venice-Trieste railway line.

• From Jesolo you can follow the regional cycle touring itinerary I3 Via del Mare eastwards to Caorle and the Bibione lagoon, then cross the Tagliamento river at Lignano, in the Friuli Venezia Giulia region.