Discovering Quarto d'Altino
The name of the village of Quarto d'Altino refers to the four miles that separated it from Altino, an ancient Paleovenetian settlement that was later conquered by the Romans and became an important municipium, crossed by the Via Gallica. Altino developed from a commercial point of view and then declined inexorably, first because of the invasions of the Barbarians and then because of the advancing paludification. Altino is transformed therefore in a sort of quarry, from which the materials for the construction of other surrounding suburbs were taken, between which exactly Quarto d'Altino. Quarto d'Altino rises on the banks of the river Sile and develops around the Church of San Michele Arcangelo of Longobardic age.
At the beginning Quarto d'Altino was surrounded by a marshy area and only with the Serenissima Republic of Venice a substantial work of reclamation was started in the 15th century, then completed between the 19th and the 20th century.
The symbol of the village of Quarto d'Altino is the Church of San Michele Arcangelo: completed between 1800 and 1900, the parish church has a clear neoclassical style and inside it houses an organ of 1908 with 1180 pipes and the copy of the work of Guido Reni, depicting the defeat of the devil by the Archangel Michael, donated by Pope Pius X.
Next to the church you can't miss the circular bell tower, 56 mt high, made by Benetton: this tower in Ravenna style is surmounted at the top by the steel statue of San Michele Arcangelo, the patron saint of the village. A spiral staircase allows all visitors to reach the belfry at the top, from which the view sweeps over Torcello, the many bell towers of the magnificent Venice and the Euganean Hills.
The surroundings of Quarto d'Altino: from the archaeological area of Altino to the Oasis of Trepalade
At little more than 6 km from Quarto d'Altino there is the archaeological area of the ancient Roman city of Altino. There are two precise areas, in one of which are clearly visible the remains of the residential district of Altino, with lots of stairways of landing, trachyte paved road and the Domus of the Panther, inside which there is a beautiful black and white mosaic, depicting a panther in the act of drinking. The other archaeological area instead guards the remains of a colossal gateway to the city, dating back to I BC.
A few meters away there is the unmissable National Archaeological Museum of Altino, rich in artifacts and finds dating back to the period between VIII BC and V AD: you can admire coins, remains of mosaics, sundials, capitals, stelae, funerary monuments and especially statues, including those headless of I BC depicting the Tritons and the beautiful Statue of Icarus.
The best way to discover Quarto d'Altino is by bike, given the presence of many bike paths: most of the paths are unpaved and wind in the heart of the lush nature that surrounds the village, just like the most famous bike circuit of GiraSile. In this case, it is a beautiful greenway that allows the lovers of the two wheels to know better the naturalistic beauties of the Regional Natural Park of the Sile River: it is possible to choose among four itineraries, linked to art, nature, taste and water.
Among the most beautiful places of the park, a few kilometers from Quarto d'Altino, there is the Naturalistic Oasis of Trepalade, habitat of many species of birds, amphibians and reptiles: here the vegetation is uncontaminated and wild, with reeds and poplars that surround the small lake, whose waters reflect the green of the surrounding nature.
