THE CYCLING PATH

The cycling route connecting Copparo and Ro is about 16 km. long. Ideally it stretches from the Museum of Tradition and Material Culture in the Area of Copparo, to the tourist's mooring place along the river in Ro. The path is linked with the provincial cycling network, stretching to the right bank of the Po river (cycling route Stellata-Goro).
The first stretch, towards Saletta, runs along the Naviglio Canal on the left bank. After a few kilometres in the typical landscape of the Po Valley countryside, the route takes to the Romanesque Church of San Venanzio, one of the most ancient buildings in the area (the façade has a memorial slab dating to 1344). Inside the Church you can see, upon request, important portions of frescoes of the Bolognese School that date back to the mid 14th century.
Near the Church, direction Saletta, you will note three disused farms (Grande, Vicenza and Gallo) as well as an example of religious architecture (Cà Lunga). The surrounding landscape, where cultivated land stretches as far as the edge of the road, has remained unchanged over the last 50 years. Man has reclaimed the expanse of land from the waters of the marshes. The lack of trees builds a likeness to some American regions. It was not by chance that Luchino Visconti chose this region to shoot Ossessione, that paved the way to Italian Neorealism.
Following the route you will reach Saletta, where you can visit a Church (1806/1811), which, according to the parochial tradition, was built by Architect Antonio Foschini, the author of the project for the Municipal Theatre in Ferrara. Noteworthy is also the archaeological paleoindustrial building (Opificio) that was used as a mill and a barn until the end of the 60's.
The cycling path will then take you to Ruina, where, once you have crossed the Canal Bianco and the Fossa di Lavezzola, you will reach Borgo Fornace, with the plant and the furnace for the baking of bricks. The ancient clay quarries follow, which have been turned into fishing lakes (Laghi Dorati).
In Ruina you can visit the Church built in 1782, allegedly on a project by Antonio Foschini. On the right side of the path, on the road to Ro running on the left bank of the Canal Bianco, you will find a building in decay, called Collegio, with its little Church built in 1788 by Alberto Penna. This used to be the holiday dwelling of the Jesuits from Ferrara in the 17th century, now in an advanced state of decay.
In Zocca di Ro the cycling path goes up on the right bank of the Po river. Between the bank and the river you can notice the typical rows of white cypresses and wide areas where poplars for the production of paper are grown. Here the river is the most important element of the landscape. Although this stretch is not particularly rich in naturalistic attractiveness, the river still catches the attention of anyone approaching the area. From the bank, the only part of land above see level, you can overlook the lowland as far as the eye can reach, with the trees and the river on your left and the immense, breathtaking countryside on your right.
On the Po bank, the cycling path merges with the cycling route Stellata-Goro (in course of construction), a stretch of road 146 km. long coinciding with Cycling Road n° 8 of the European circuit Eurovelo.
If you take a left turn towards Fossadalbero, where the path intersects the Po bank, you will reach one of the Delizie Estensi, mansions used by the Estes in their leisure time, which is now private and hosts a Country Club with golf courses, tennis fields and a swimming pool. The main building, mostly re-built in the 19th Century, was originally built around 1430 by Giovanni da Siena by order of Niccolò III of the Este family. Tradition has it that Fossadalbero was the theatre of the secret meetings between Ugo and Parisina, wife and step-son of Niccolò III.
Moving to the right, along the main path, you will see the Villa Saracco-Riminaldi, hidden in the heart of a thick garden emerging from the lowland. This is one of the most elaborate aristocratic houses of the countryside around Ferrara. The main building dates back to the mid 16th century, and was built near a large tower of the 15th century, which seems to have served as defensive post during the war against Venice in the 16th century. A baroque chapel was subsequently added to the building.
The path ends near the bridge over the Po River, where a small tourist port for canoes and inflatable boats is planned.