The Visitor Centre is located along the road from Grado to Fossalon. Inaugurated on 23rd March 2002, and has parking and infrastructure such as picnic tables and toilets for visitors. It is linked to the town of Grado by a cycle path of about 6 km and, in the other direction to the wildlife-rich site of “Caneo” roughly another 7 km further on.
The interior of the building was completely modernized in 2018 with educational, interpretative and scientific purposes in mind. The entrance was made more spacious and the lighting improved using LEDs. The main room has been equipped with large spaces dedicated for teaching. Along the walls, covered with reeds to simulate a typical lagoon environment, there are slits through which you can observe high definition videos that portray the lives of many species of mammals and birds that are particularly typical of the area . At the back of the room the Nature Reserve’s promotional video and other educational videos on the lagoon flora and fauna are projected.
The small room has been completely redesigned and houses a reproduction of a typical lagoon house, or casone, containing its original furnishings such as fishing nets, decorations and furniture. In this room, a high-definition video is projected illustrating the activity of fish-farming within the valle, a historic human activity practiced on what is now the area covered by the Nature Reserve until its establishment in 1996.
The Visitor Centre is open:
- on Saturdays, Sundays and Mondays from 10.30 to 15.30, from 1st November to 31st March
- daily from 10.00 to 17.00 from 1st April to 31st October, (closed on Thursdays)
The ‘Pagoda’ and the Sabbia Wildlife Observatory are accessible only by booking via email at info.educazionecavanata@gmail.com. You can read more information by downloading the RNR Valle Cavanata Protocollo di gestione e fruizione RNR Valle Cavanata periodo Covid-19 approved by municipal council with resolution no. 20 of 26.05.2020.
The Nature Reserve is also accessible when the Visitor Centre is closed.
