Meet at Bassanello at the embarkation quay under the bridge.
The navigation begins at Bassanello, an important river junction to the south of the city, at the point where the waters of the Bacchiglione flow into the Canale Scaricatore, the youngest of Padua’s canals, built in the nineteenth century and extended in the twentieth century to put an end to the city’s disastrous flooding. Leaving behind the mouth of the Canale Battaglia and the Ponte dei Cavai, from which the main trunk that enters the city is detached, we follow the Canale Scaricatore as far as the monumental Conca di Navigazione di Voltabarozzo, an important hydraulic artefact of the early 20th century. Once past the lock, we navigate along the San Gregorio Canal to the point where it joins the Piovego and enter the city, passing the San Gregorio counter-bridge. This is an evocative and enthralling route along the city’s waterways, while the tales of the past and the stories of old trades intertwine with modernity and the great urban changes that have taken place in recent times. We walk along the imposing Venetian ramparts, through walls, bastions and green floodplain areas to reach the Portello, with its monumental gate and 16th-century landing stage, and finally continue to the Porte Contarine , where the landing stage is planned.
The Conca delle Porte Contarine is the city’s most illustrious hydraulic artefact and stands at the point where the Naviglio Interno once flowed into the Tronco Maestro del Bacchiglione, an obligatory point of passage for boats leaving the city on their way to Venice. Services end at the Portello or Conca delle Porte Contarine in the historic centre of Padua.
