Half Marathon
After two years of stop, Mytho Half Marathon returns in 2024!
One of the fastest half-marathons in Italy, starting from the Grado camping area along a completely flat route that will take you to discover the Valle Cavanata Nature Reserve and to the FVG2 AdriaBike Cycle Route before arriving on the Grado seafront where where your effort ends.
Accomodation and Tourism
VALLE CAVANATA NATURE RESERVE
The Valle Cavanata Regional Nature Reserve is located in the eastern part of the Grado lagoon which was embanked and equipped with adjustable sluices in communication with the sea and transformed into a fish rearing operation that functioned until 1995. In the northern Adriatic lagoons, natural environments modified by the human, these fish rearing ponds have a particular meaning (a term deriving from the Latin vallum – embankment, or wall). These are shallow lagoon areas, with mudflats and sandbanks, embanked and hydraulically isolated from the surrounding waters, and used for fish farming. The optimal water level within the valle is maintained through adjustable locks.
Today, Valle Cavanata, with its 250 hectares, is one of the largest fishing valli in the Grado lagoon, even if it only a part of that which was created from the lagoon and surrounding marshy area from the 1920s onwards, when the major reclamation works were carried out. Valle Cavanata was completely embanked in the 1930s, becoming a fishing and hunting valle with an area about three times larger than that at present. In the same period, the area located to the east of today’s valle was reclaimed for agriculture, thus reducing the marshy areas, and the Canale Averto, an ancient branch of the Isonzo, was transformed into a spillway channel for the “della Vittoria” (“Victory”) reclamations after World War One. The reclamation works were completed in the areas north of the valley in the 1950s which drastically reduced its area to its current size. After the floods of 1965 and 1966, the sea embankment was reinforced, the Averto Canale closed to the sea, and the current beach was created.
FVG2 ADRIABIKE CYCLE ROUTE
The Adriatic Sea Cycle Route (FVG 2) will connect Trieste and Venice and is an integral part of the European "Eurovelo" route number 8 (Cadiz-Athens) as well as of several FIAB "Bicitalia" routes and the Adriabike Tarvisio-Trieste-Ravenna route. This is the itinerary in Friuli Venezia Giulia boasting the most international connections.
Trieste is the natural starting point for this captivating route that travels to the main seaside resorts in Friuli Venezia Giulia, travelling through the Karst region and crossing the Friulian lowlands, close to the Lagoon of Grado and Marano.
From Monfalcone, the journey permeates the country setting of the Lower Plain, rich with countless waterways. This is where the Roman remains of Aquileia emerge, surrounded by the coastal landscape of the Lagoon of Grado and Marano. A visit to the well-known regional seaside resorts of Grado and Lignano Sabbiadoro and the fishing port of Marano Lagunare is a must. The many protected nature reserves and nature oases that are located along the way (the Isonzo Mouth, Cavanata Valley, Canal Novo Valley and the Stella Mouth) will provide nature lovers with the opportunity of appreciating the environmental and birdlife characteristics of the Lagoon.
GRADO
Grado, joined to the mainland by a narrow strip of land, has a graceful Venetian style historic town centre where you can wander through the alleyways and squares flanked by picturesquely cluttered fishermen's houses: a charming world of its own where time seems to have stopped.
In the wonderful setting of Campo dei Patriarchi in the old city you can admire the early Christian buildings such as the Basilica dedicated to Santa Eufemia, from which top stands the statue of the Angel San Michele (called Anzolo and symbol of the city), the Baptistery and the Lapidarium. Moreover, there, you can visit the Basilica dedicated to Santa Maria delle Grazie, the oldest of Grado.
The central Biagio Marin Square is dedicated to the famous local poet: there you can also find the remains of the old and imponent Basilica della Corte.
The hystorical centre belongs to pedestrians that can peacefully discover the most important features of the Golden Island.
Walking along the seafront Nazario Sauro, you can also enjoy a marvellous view on the Karst, Trieste and the Istrian Coast.
