This route, which opened in May 2013, takes one from the Adige River to the Po, or vice versa, crossing the (*)Polesine, traveling in part along dedicated bike paths and in part along country roads with little traffic, and touching upon some important Venetian villas: Villa Morosini at Polesella, villa Grimani, and above all villa Badoer at Fratta Polesine. Along the entire route there is effective signage which makes it difficult to lose one’s way.

On this page I describe a route that starts from Rovigo and ends at Lendinara, which therefore includes directions on how to reach the Po and the starting point of the Adige Po bike route.

The point of departure is the train station at Rovigo, from which you take the bike lane along the Circonvallazione [ring road] to the right(*) as far as Via Vittorio Veneto, which you then follow up to the next ring road (Via dell’Artigianato) and where you turn left. Follow it to the end, where you turn right onto Via Maestri del Lavoro and then left on to Via Savonarola. [Follow Paolo’s map since Google Maps is hopelessly wrong on the street naming. RB]

Now that you are outside the town of Rovigo, cross the Canalbianco [white canal] and soon come to a bike path on the right that takes you to Pontecchio Polesine and then at the end a long straightaway to Guarda Veneta, where you reach the north bank of the Po.

Climb up to the levee, but the Po remains hidden behind a dense thicket that grows well in the soil of the floodplain. As you come into Polesella, you will find Villa Morosini on the right, the most southern of the Venetian villas, while on the left the Po is finally visible.

The official Adige Po bike route begins (or ends, if coming from the opposite direction) at Polesella. Continue along the levee until you come to the street to the train station [Via Roma]; here there is a sottopassaggio [bicycle underpass] at the end of which it is important to avoid making the mistake that I did, continuing to the train station; instead, it is necessary to make an 180° turn to the left onto a short section of gravel bike path that leads one along the statale [state road]; shortly after one climbs the overpass that crosses the Venezia-Bologna train tracks and immediately after that you will find signs directing you to the bike path, but that takes one along a rather twisting route; you could skip this part and continue along the main road until you come to the properly designated bike route after about 800 meters/half mile, next to a canal.

Continue along the marked route through an area of large agricultural fields; for Italy, it is unusual to be able to see the horizon in a 360° panorama.

Follow the route until you are past the Canalbianco and shortly after going below the bridge over the canal take the road on the levee to the left, in part open to traffic and in part on a dedicated bike path. You will find signs directing you to the right, first to follow a brief section along the Transpolesana superhighway, and then, turning right from the highway, we arrive directly at Fratta Polesine, a town noted for many Venetian villas; among those that stand out are Villa Grimani Molin and especially Villa Badoer, one of the finest masterpieces of Palladio.

After Fratta Polesine you ride on a local road along the Adigetto Canal as far as the large agricultural town of Lendinara, where there is a train station and where you could conclude this route.

If you wish to complete this route by seeing the Adige you need only to follow the signs to the village of Barbuglio, where you can climb onto the levee of the Adige, and which marks the official end (or beginning) of this bike route. Return to Lendinara along the same route as you came.