The first (or the last, depending on which way you’re going) section of Via Claudia Augusta is that section that starts at the ancient Roman city of Altino. Altino was abandoned at the beginning of the middle ages and legend has it that its inhabitants, to settle in a safer place, chose a group of small islands in the middle of the lagoon: the future Venice. Today all that remains of Altino are the ruins scattered around an archeological museum. A few km/miles to the north a separate village developed called San Michele al Quarto, which in 1946 became Quarto d’Altino, thereby resurrecting the ancient name; the ancient Altino is now contained within its town boundaries.

At Quarto d’Altino there is a train station on the Venezia-Trieste line, small but recently renovated with raised platforms and elevators, and so the route I describe starts from this station.

Upon leaving the station go down through the underpass which comes up again, without stairs, towards the Crown Plaza hotel which is adjacent to the station (and where the train tickets are sold) and here we find ourselves directly on the bike path which follows along Via Kennedy; heading left we follow the bike path for a short distance, we cross the street and then continue on the right for a few hundred meters/yards, until the intersection with Via Claudia Augusta, which at this point reappears among the local place names; we take this road and follow it for a long straight shot in excess of two km/1.2 miles; at the end we turn right onto an unpaved road, abandoning the Roman road which here we lose among the fields.

A little further along one passes a barrier and onto the beginning of an unpaved bike path, recently dedicated, which runs between two sturdy fences along the river with the curious name: river Zero. The area is uninhabited and the atmosphere is attractive for its silence, broken only by the flight and sounds of egrets and other lagoon birds. At the end, after following the circuitous route of the Zero and then the Dese, one comes to Via San Eliodoro, where we turn left and after a few hundred meters/yards arrive at the piazzale with the church of San Eliodoro and on the right the structure of the Altino Archeological Museum.

Along the right side of the road one can observe the remains of some streets and tombs of ancient Altino. Several gravestones from the ancient necropolis are on display under the portico of the piazzale.

Continue on the same road, a long straightaway with little traffic, up to joining the very busy road along the river Sile; upon crossing that road we find ourselves alongside an unpaved bike path; but, the bike path is separated from the road by a fence and a guard rail so we must find an opening to get onto the bike path.

At this point we could turn left to return directly to Quarto d’Altino, or turn right to ride along the few remaining kilometers/miles of the river Sile, as far as the boat basin at Pontegrandi, where we come once again to the Venice lagoon. From here there seems to be no way to continue and therefore we need to return along the same route, still along the river Sile, which now is on our right, as far as Quarto d'Altino. The bike path runs under the train tracks to conclude at a road bridge just up ahead; but, just before going under the railroad bridge, take the unpaved path to the left which takes you directly to the beginning of Via Kennedy, which in turn takes you in a few hundred meters/yards to the train station, where this trip ends.