The best traffic-free bike rides around Noventa Di Piave

The Piave is an idyllic, quiet river, partly with beautiful water lilies and swans, simply fairytale-like

A tower with the image of the great writer Hemingway along the banks of the Piave river, near Fossalta di Piave (VE).

La Contrada Martellia is one of the historic territorial subdivisions of Meolo, deeply linked to the hamlet of Marteggia. Its name has its roots in the area's Roman past, probably deriving from the Latin term Martel(l)ia, and has a Roman chariot as its identifying symbol, testifying to the passage of the ancient Via Annia through this sector of the territory. An integral part of the municipality's social life, the contrada is a protagonist in the famous Palio di Meolo, where it competes against other local entities (Albarato, Ca’ Cappello, Ca’ Corner, Candeara, and Palumbo) in sporting and scenic competitions. The link with Marteggia defines its identity: an area characterized by reclaimed rural landscape and important historical traces, such as stone artifacts embedded in the parish church. Being part of Martellia means cherishing a sense of belonging that unites the memory of ancient Roman roots with the vibrancy of contemporary community traditions.

The pontoon bridge between Fossalta and Noventa di Piave is a suggestive floating structure that represents one of the last testaments to traditional river engineering on the Sacro alla Patria river. The structure, formed by a series of connected barges that float according to the water level, constitutes a vital and historical link between the two banks. Beyond its practical utility, the bridge offers a unique sensory experience: the slight rolling and the rustling of the current accompany the passage of cars and cycle tourists, immersed in a natural landscape of rare beauty. A symbol of local identity and of a time when man constantly dialogued with the rhythms of the river, the bridge remains a fundamental stop for those seeking slow and conscious mobility, capable of uniting technical ingenuity and respect for the riparian environment.

In Noventa, water flows, but memories endure. The words engraved on the lectern-shaped plaque encapsulate the meaning of the memorial area in the Gonfo floodplain, at the end of Via Ca' Memo, across from the pontoon bridge. More than a monument, a place where a low metal and wood platform half encloses a tree-lined space. The emblematic plaque was unveiled yesterday, facing the Piave River, to remember those who fought and died here in the final year of the First World War, as well as the people who, in peacetime, lived and worked near the pass, the ferry crossing the Piave, and those who lost their lives in the river's waters.

A beautiful stretch of the Piave River near Fossalta di Piave. https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piave

During World War I, after the defeat at Caporetto, the Piave River became the border between Italy and the Austro-Hungarians. The area adjacent to the river became a base for rescue battalions and troops. Among the latter was the American Red Cross, where ambulance driver Ernest Hemingway was stationed. Our places, traditions, and local people so impressed the American writer that he liked to call himself a boy from the "lower Piave." Wounded near Fossalta di Piave, he nevertheless devoted himself to saving other soldiers. From this powerful experience, he wrote his famous novel "A Farewell to Arms." The only American, Lieutenant Edward McKey, a friend of Hemingway, who fell in battle along the Piave, is buried in the Fagarè Memorial. Hemingway dedicated a poem to him, which is inscribed on the tombstone that is still visible today.

Upper embankment along the Piave River in Via Garibaldi in Fossalta di Piave.