Cortellazzo and the surroundings: a hamlet full of wonders

by Manuel Pavanello

Today our journey will start from via Cesare Battisti, in Jesolo Paese. Heading towards via Cristoforo Colombo, you will reach a crossroads near a bridge. Ride straight on, and, on the left, you will immediately see a bunker from the Second World War, turned into a cellar for the “Ponte de Fero” restaurant. On the right, you’ll find the historic Cavetta canal, after which the city of Jesolo was initially named (“Cavazuccherina”) from 1499 to 1929/30. Continuing straight on, you’ll reach Cortellazzo, a hamlet of Jesolo whose roots date back to 1601, but whose current appearance dates back to 16/11/1939. In that year, the “Villaggio dei Pescatori di Cortellazzo” (Cortellazzo Fishermen Village) was designed and dedicated to Costanzo Ciano, a war hero of Cortellazzo. Moreover, Lieutenant Andrea Bafile also died here. Before reaching the main square, on the left there are the former barracks of the “De Simone” financial police, inaugurated on 29/12/1940. A little further on, you’ll get to Piazza del Granatiere, with a commemorative monument to the Grenadiers inaugurated in 1985, as well as a small memorial stone “to the victims who had died for united, free and democratic Italy”, inaugurated on 11/26/1978, at the bus stop. Across the road, adjacent to the local fish market, there is a machine gun post dating back to First World War. Let’s end this tour by riding along via Dragan Cigan to admire the mouth of the Piave, a river much appreciated by the local residents, with a view of the Piave scales and the Mort beach on one side, and the green dunes on the other. This is an amazing landscape, from an environmental, geographical and cultural point of view. That’s enough for today! Let’s meet again in the next issue for another ride through nature, art and history!