The 1951 Flood and the Frassinelle Lorry
The night the Po swept over the Polesine
14 November 1951: the Po bursts its banks and floods two thirds of the Polesine. That night, at Frassinelle, came the tragedy of the ‘lorry of death’.
All routes
Along the Great River
The Po shaped the Polesine and flooded it more than once. This route follows the river: the Este castle at Arquà, the villa at Polesella, and on to Ficarolo, where a medieval breach changed the course of the Po. To read along the way: the stories of the 1951 flood.
Stops
- 1
Este Castle of Arquà Polesine
A tower, a moat and a secret passage never found
A crenellated tower, a moat and a courtyard of thirteen arches: in Arquà a 12th-century castle endures, with the legend of a secret passage.
Este Castle of Arquà Polesine - 2
Villa Morosini
The doge’s villa and the battle on the Po
On the banks of the Po, the villa of Doge Francesco Morosini. Before it, the river where in 1509 the Venetian fleet met a surprise defeat.
Villa Morosini - 3
Bell Tower of Ficarolo
The crooked tower that corrected itself
Ficarolo’s bell tower doesn’t just lean: its profile breaks into three sections, the mark of a long struggle between its builders and the ground.
Bell Tower of Ficarolo
Related
The Rotta di Ficarolo
The day the Po changed its course
In 1152, tradition says, the Po burst its banks at Ficarolo and carved a new path. So the Polesine became a land between rivers.
Fòle e filò
Witches, trials and tales in the winter stables
In winter stables people gathered for the filò and told fòle, folk tales. Long before, the witches of the Polesine had faced the courts.