The Sile is rather unusual, it is a river that “rises” from the depths of the ground with pools of limpid and vital water, a network of springs, called “Fontanassi”.
You can get to know the Sile in two ways: experiencing its water, in a canoe or small boats, on foot or by bicycle. For our activities we have started to map two paths, (virtual tours available at the bottom of the page) accessible for the disabled for most of their itinerary. As a consequence we have also started to explore the natural environment surrounding us. The first path, where the Sile is originated, or rather “rising”, is “La Porta dell’Acqua“ near the Gran Bosco dei Fontanassi. It is less frequented than the second one the “Burci cemetery” but, on the other hand, less crowded means much more relaxing.
Undoubtedly the Burci are fascinating, the remains that emerge on the surface of water, evidence of a “slow” era that no longer exists, the accessibility of the path, attract many people. Unfortunately (or luckily, depending on the points of view) on Sundays and in summer it looks like a city central area. It took ages to map the path, if you want to take your time and relax it is better in winter.
Humidity
In summer nature is lush, very green and you can find a great variety of flowers. I thought about it for a moment and tried to answer the question “why do I come here and not somewhere else?” What can I find so particular worth telling?” The answer came to me from the humidity of the place. Yes, just the humidity of the Pianura Padana, so often depressing, with its skies never, or rarely, completely blue.
It was surreal to find out that, as in the last period I have frequented other places, I have missed the humidity (normally detested) that makes you feel the physical sensation of “passing through” a place as if you were swimming metaphorically through an impalpable water. Water that you feel and leaves you a little breathless. In summer the green that surrounds you is greener than green but, in my opinion, you can fully understand this environment of land and water especially in autumn and winter. With the fog...
Fog
Try to imagine the autumn fog, the shape of the places that fade, the sounds are not clear but muffled. Humidity is the main attraction, again and more strongly, the sensation of swimming in and through the place. Time is suspended, you cannot get the feeling of time because you cannot see the sky. Yet the noise of water in the background, some nutria that dives, the beating of the swans’ wings define the contours of the place.
Often with the mapping activities, we have been accused of digitizing everything and making people “walk around” without having to leave the sofa. Nothing could be more untrue. You can see the place on a screen, you can even follow a path, but you cannot feel it. Can you “swim” in the humidity? The only image of a place does not define its complex and changeable reality. Experiencing by feeling the reality of a place is the key word.
Panta rei, everything flows … reality is a continuous becoming