The Po River [antikvár]

rhe Po is laden with meaning and history as it flows across Italy for 652 long kilometres. Our longest river, with the shortest possible name, makes its way through four different regions as it bisects the Po plain to link the Alps with the Adriatic Sea. Its clear waters spring from Ml Monviso and rush down the mountainside; wider and more mature it is the lifeblood of the Ver-celli rice fields and the Polesine plain, gliding past the castles and villages of the Pavia and Lo-di countryside, down onto the fertile plain of Emilia-Romagna and finally fanning out into the ample Delta, a delicate tracery of land and water with a bracing sea breeze, home to a wealth of wildlife. A fascinating journey detailed in our new guide, written with the help of the four regions the Po runs through, with thirty unforgettable itineraries that paint a detailed picture of the Po from every point of view. Places that deserve to be discovered for the first time, or enjoyed again and again: from the bodri of the Cremona countryside, small lakes glittering like jewels in the woods and fields that provided the backdrop to Bertolucci's film "1900", to Verdi's birthplace, and the site of Peppone and Don Camillo's endless battles; from the nature reserves to the cycle paths, from river boat rides to cities richly-endowed with art and history like Turin, Pavia, Cremona, Piacenza, Mantua and Ferrara. Because the historical Eridanus (aka Poj, where Phaeton fell during his mad career across the skies in the chariot of the sun, is a river as long on history as it is on miles, bursting with myths and legends, history, nature, industry and everyday country life, an authentic, regenerating life force. And what better way to conclude this presentation than with the apt words of the writer Cesare Pavese, who in "La Bella Estate" (The Lovely Summer), remembers his youthful swims in the river: «All those times I plunged, hot and sweaty, into the river, my blood tingled for the rest of the day invigorated by the shock of its waters. It was as if I had absorbed all the virtues of the sun and the energy of the current, a blind force, joyful and deep >>. Roberto Ruozi President of tfie Touring Club Italiano The Po, Italy's River A Few Statistics on the Po to Begin with At school Italian children are taught the essentials; that it is the longest river in Italy (652km), that its source is on Monviso, that it crosses the plain and flows into the Adriatic sea through a large delta. adults, the river dwindles in their lives to a mere landmark on the main north-south motorway, it has lost its value as a natural highway and become an obstacle on the route of man-made communication links. Sometimes it hits the headlines when it swells menacingly and threatens bridges and homes. Then everyone keeps an anxious eye on it, measuring and assessing its humour, placating it with the time-honoured expedients of dykes and prayers. We should go back to school to learn more, or one day decide to embark on a lengthily journey of exploration along its banks, so unjustly disdained. Hopefully a guidebook acts as a catalyst, a stimulus, something to read at home and then tuck into our pockets as we set out to make amends for our youthful geographic ignorance. In reality the Po is of vital importance to Italy as a glance at the figures confirms. About 40% of the country's wealth (GNP) comes from the Po valley, which counts 3200 towns and parishes, eight regions (in its drainage basin) and touches two foreign countries: Switzerland and France. About 15,764,000 people live in its 71,000km' basin. Its waters, properly managed, are an incomparable agricultural and industrial resource. The Po basin contains 285 power stations, 272 of them hydroelectric, and produces 17,940 MW of power. The river provides water for irrigation and power stations, and sand and gravel for roads and houses. It is an oasis supporting hundreds of species of wildlife and plants and an exceptionally important resource for tourism and leisure for the towns and cities of the plan. The preservation of this superb natural heritage is obviously vital, but all too often in the past it has been threatened by neglect or exploitation. Over the last few years the situation has improved, with the grouping together of the management of the river's affairs, previously fragmented, under a single authority, stricter environmental regulations and a greater awareness of the historical, social, cultural and environmental importance of this great river, that discharges roughly 42.6 billion nf of water into the Adriatic. The French geographer Elíseo Reclus observed back in the century that the Po, of all the European rivers, carried the largest mass of water to its mouth in proportion to the size of its basin. The Po Delta in a map from the latter half of the 19"^ century: Note how the "Po di Maestra" dominates the other branches, the large areas still to be drained and forests backed along the line of dunes that mark the one-time coastline