IN THE HEART OF POLESINE, A LAND BETWEEN TWO RIVERS

(Barbuglio - Polesella, 34 km)

This interesting and well-designed itinerary connects the two main rivers of northern Italy, on quiet minor roads and beautiful embankment paths in the heart of the Polesine, a land bounded by two rivers and two cycle paths. It starts in the village of Barbuglio on the Adige, and goes through the noble small towns of Lendinara and Fratta Polesine, reaching the Po in Polesella. The route is accurately and specifically signposted, and is flat and suitable to all, as it is mostly surfaced with some stretches of compact gravel. The website of the cycle path, www.ciclabileadigepo.it, has comprehensive information.

The itinerary starts from the bank of the Adige above the hamlet of Barbuglio in the municipality of Lendinara, at a point marked by an information board. From there, you head south through the hamlet of Barbuglio, and after the intersection with via Crosara (km 0.8), you arrive in Saguedo (km 1.9) where, immediately after the bridge on a canal, you turn right and follow its bank, then (km 2.3) you turn left in via San Rocco. Continue south and carefully cross regional road SR88 (km 3.7) until you get to Lendinara on the left bank of the Adigetto, right next to the fine church of San Rocco. Take a left down the embankment towards the centre of the pleasant small town, which you can visit by taking a short detour left (km 4.9) into piazza Risorgimento, then come out through via Battisti and via Cavour and get back onto the embankment again (km 5.3). The very pleasant embankment path continues until km 10.8, when you cross the Adigetto on a specific cycle and footbridge. Once on the other side in via Valdentro, you turn left and arrive in the centre of Villanova del Ghebbo, in front of the parish church (km 11.4). Continue always on via Valdentro, following south the right bank of the Scortico canal, which has just branched off the Adigetto. At km 13.5, you go over the Scortico, right next to the railway station of Fratta Polesine, and then continue along the canal, and go past Giacomo Matteotti's Museum Home and villa Badoer. The embankment path along the Scortico continues until km 15.6, when you come to the Transpolesana SS434 state road, on which north side you ride along via Basse, then go under it (km 16.5) and continue on its south side until (km 17.4) you turn right on via Frattesina, which continues until the left bank of Canal Bianco (km 18.7). After that, you turn left, and start riding eastwards alongside the waterway for a few kilometres, in a fine lush landscape, until you cross a bridge (km 24.0), and then continue south on via Umberto Maddalena in a very vast countryside. At km 28.5, just before a little bridge, you turn left in via Don Sturzo, then, just before the railway tracks (km 29.8), you turn right into via Trento. A little further on, at km 30.2, you turn left over a bridge then turn right into via Tasso, then (km 30.7) left into via Raccario and on the segregated cycle path along via Nazionale. The cycle path then continues (km 32.5) into an underpass and joins via Roma on the other side and finally gets you to the centre of Polesella (km 33.6) under the bank of the river Po, where the itinerary ends.