SHARRYLAND
Where is
What it is and where it is
The Goro lighthouse could have come out of a child's drawing: white cylindrical shaft topped by a beautiful lantern; 22 meters high, a fair thing, on a human scale; and of course equipped with the lighthouse keeper's house. As for the location, not a cliff buffeted by breakers, but a soft Adriatic beach. Bird's eye view landscape: sand dunes, reed beds, and lagoons. Background scenery: the Po Delta, to be precise, the branch that descends to mark the border that today is between the provinces of Rovigo and Ferrara, but which was once between the Republic of Venice and Romagna with all that comes with it in terms of history and cuisine: the Po di Goro, which was precisely a maritime town under the papal flag. Having exhausted its maritime function, today the lighthouse is the pretty accessory to one of the beaches with the highest environmental quotient in Italy. It is no coincidence that it is mostly reached by river, leaving the superfluous on dry land.
Why it is special
On official maps this strip of the Po Delta goes by the name of Scanno di Goro, where a 'scanno' is one of those sand bars that rivers form outside the mouth by sedimentation of alluvial materials. Since it is a wide scanno, fishermen called it Scannone, and no one ever objected, so out of touch was it. In recent years, the miraculous transformation: renamed Love Island, it has become the most romantic place in the Delta, and you have to give them credit. The most usual way to reach it, in fact, is by river, and this certainly sappy for the sentimental. Once landed, one then finds oneself walking barefoot, hand in hand, through the dunes brushed by the breeze. Mother Nature then wants the lighthouse to stand out against such sunsets as to disarm even the most reluctant to let go. Lastly, the transformation of the lighthouse house into a languid restaurant with a small hotel....
Not to be missed
From the lighthouse, walking along the beach, or even better navigating the surrounding shallows, one grasps how this extreme frontier of the Delta fringes into the archipelago of shifting sandy contours that makes up the Sacca Di Goro Dunes and Islands Nature Reserve. It is the realm of sea and lagoon birds whose presence is subject mainly to the tidal cycle. Thus it is that, cyclically, large areas of silt emerge for the benefit of small wading birds that probe it with their long beaks in search of nourishment. The conspicuous oystercatcher is a resident species, while of seasonal passage are many other small waders: sandpipers, godwits, curlews, plovers... to name them by category, except to rely on an experienced birdwatcher to identify individual species.
A bit of history
The story of the Goro lighthouse is a clear demonstration of the advancement of the Delta coastline. The lighthouse that now stands on the beach has recent history: in fact, it is a 1950 reconstruction of the one destroyed at the end of World War II. The previous lighthouse, built in 1864 and now referred to as the Vecchia Lanterna, is located a few kilometers upstream from the current coastline due to the continuous advancement of the delta; the characteristic quadrangular-based building still stands along the riverbank and has been adapted as a naturalistic observation tower on the Sacca di Goro. Going even further back in time, the development of Goro as a fishing center dates back to the early eighteenth century and it is likely that, being then close to the sea, it was equipped with its own lantern of which, however, no trace remains.
Curiosities
Scanno di Goro is one of the Italian sites where it is easiest to come across the oystercatcher (Haematopus ostralegus), a conspicuous frequenter of beaches and tidal flats. A bird of some size, 40 centimeters in length, 80 in wingspan, it has an elegant livery, black from head to back and white from breast to undertail. The legs are red. The beak is unmistakable, coral-colored, long, flattened and robust, suitable for breaking open the shells of mollusks that are the species' most congenial food. In fact, the name oystercatcher refers to this aptitude, which was popular in the past. In spring the oystercatcher nests in fairly dense colonies among sandbars. This is the time when observers must become very cautious, avoiding approaching the area where the young of the year roost in the dunes, with the adults ready to launch into intimidating swoops against anyone who crosses a certain threshold.
Enter the Map of Italy's Undiscovered Wonders and find treasures where you least expect it... Inspire, Recommend, Share...
Contact
Collections
Discover places and related research
The Map thanks:
Enter the Map of Italy's Undiscovered Wonders and find treasures where you least expect it... Inspire, Recommend, Share...
Where is
Contact
Collections
Discover places and related research
