in the venetian lagoon. June, Monday 2nd

we read on the local newspaper that a flock of pink flamingos had arrived to the venetian lagoon, and was staying somewhere over there, near a place called Lio Piccolo. we've actually never heard of the place. like many people, when i think about the venetian lagoon, my thoughts go to Venice, the main island, or to Murano, Burano, Mazzorbo, la Giudecca {for italian readers, a post about la Giudecca here}, il Lido, the smaller but globally known islands, that can be reached with a quick vaporetto {water bus} ride from Venice. but the lagoon is much more bigger than that. there is a whole world made by greens, yellows, blues, birds songs and poetry that stands between the coast and the islands, and we have never explored before. the pink flamingos news was the flea in our ears that made us take the lambretta and ride towards the sea.

we didn't see the flamingos, but the scenery was like that

how to explain the complexity of the lagoon? as i usually do, i tried to draw a simple map, but this time i feel like it is not enough, so i found a more detailed map. at the top left, you can see the fish-shaped Venice. the lighter blue stands for 0 to 1 and 1 to 2 metres mean sea level, and the green indicates the saltmarshes. 

we drove until we could, then we went through the saltmarches by foot, walking on narrow paths flanked with water and reeds. we almost felt like we were advancing into the waters.
it was amazing. we met lonely houses, old drawbridges and so many kinds of birds. it is fascinating to take a look on how the entire lagoon would look like, if the dream that we call Venice was never realized.

some rusty bridges that were used to connect the banks were still there. 

most of the houses were empty, but the inhabited ones were lovely decorated, with flowers and well groomed gardens.

for more info {italian & english} the official venice lagoon tourism website illustrates Lio Piccolo's amenities here.