On Friday 2 October, Aquileia comes alive with Barcolana Walk, an afternoon devoted to discovering the deep and still vibrant relationship between the city and water. Organised as part of Barcolana58 by Fondazione Aquileia, a Gold Sponsor of Barcolana, the event is held in collaboration with the Municipality of Aquileia, SABAP for Friuli Venezia Giulia, the Basilica of Aquileia, Associazione Nazionale per Aquileia, Fondazione Radio Magica ETS, Stazione di Terapia Forestale FVG-ITALIA, Eco&Salute Soc. Coop. – ecosystem services for human health, with Cammini d’Italia as media partner.

The event invites visitors to experience the area at a slower pace, moving through landscapes, history and nature while following the ancient and modern waterways that have helped shape Aquileia’s identity. It is a connection whose roots stretch back to pre-Roman times, continue through the Roman city and reach all the way to today’s lagoon landscape.

Participants will meet at 3 pm in the Fondo CAL archaeological area, on Via Giulia Augusta, where, following the official welcome, several activities will begin simultaneously at 3.30 pm. Advance booking is required for all activities at fondazioneaquileia.it.

From ancient waterways to the lagoon

Among the activities, “Aquileia, Gateway to the Mediterranean”, organised by Fondazione Aquileia and Cammini d’Italia, is already sold out. The itinerary will introduce participants to the port infrastructure of the ancient city before continuing by boat: an hour-long journey along the Natissa will take them towards the Grado Lagoon, following a waterway travelled for centuries and immersing them in a transitional landscape between land and sea, rich in biodiversity, birdlife, salt-tolerant vegetation and traditions associated with fishing.

Nature as an experience of well-being

In the archaeological area of the ancient river port, visitors can also take part in “Shinrin Yoku-Dō”, a forest-bathing experience designed to rediscover our connection with nature through slowness, listening, breathing and sensory awareness.

Organised by Fondazione Aquileia together with Stazione di Terapia Forestale FVG-ITALIA and Eco&Salute Soc. Coop., the activity will last approximately two and a half hours. Participation is free, with advance booking required, and is limited to 20 people. The activity is open to participants aged 16 and over.

Discovering Aquileia… for younger visitors too

Designed for children aged 5 to 10, the dramatised walk “Passaporto Parlante” (“Talking Passport”), curated by Radio Magica ETS, offers a journey through time and some of Aquileia’s oldest and most significant sites. Equipped with a real passport, young participants will collect a sticker at each stop and even meet a very special character who lived in Aquileia around two thousand years ago.

The activity lasts approximately one hour. Participation is free, with advance booking required, and is limited to 15 children.

Cycling along the Canale Anfora For those who prefer two wheels, “Canale Anfora: a liquid road” offers a cycling itinerary from the outskirts of Aquileia to the lagoon, following the course of the Canale Anfora and its long history: from its construction in Roman times, through its abandonment and subsequent rediscovery, to its transformation into an important land-reclamation waterway.

The excursion, lasting approximately three hours, is organised by Associazione Nazionale per Aquileia APS, with the participation of Associazione Il Filo Rosso. Participation is free, with advance booking required, and is limited to 30 people. Bicycles can also be hired for an additional fee.

The sea through the great Jonah Mosaic

The Basilica of Aquileia is also taking part in Barcolana Walk with a guided visit dedicated to one of its most celebrated treasures: the Jonah Mosaic. The tour explores the story of the prophet and the many depictions of the sea and fishing that feature in the vast mosaic floor.

The visit will last approximately one hour. Advance booking is required, with payment on site for admission to the Basilica Complex and headset rental, for a total cost of €11.

An evening devoted to walking routes and heritage

The day will continue at 7 pm in the Conference Hall of Palazzo Brunner-Segré, at Via Roma 20, with the talk “Beauty Lies Along the Way: The Tangible and Intangible Heritage of Walking Routes”, curated by Cammini d’Italia.

The event will explore the contemporary meaning of walking routes, which are about much more than kilometres, trails and GPS tracks. Walking becomes a way of discovering landscapes, villages, traditions, flavours and communities: a tangible and intangible heritage encountered along the way that can be rediscovered and passed on precisely through the experience of walking.

This will be followed by a screening of the documentary “La Via Decia”, devoted to the 95-kilometre route through Valle Camonica and Valle di Scalve, between the provinces of Brescia and Bergamo. Following the course of the Dezzo River, the documentary portrays a landscape of forests, small villages, ancient iron mines and places of remembrance such as the Gleno Dam, focusing on the stories and communities that still inhabit these mountains today.

Admission to the talk and screening is free, with booking recommended via Eventbrite on the Fondazione Aquileia profile.

Barcolana Walk is therefore an invitation to rediscover Aquileia at a different pace: the slower rhythm of walking, cycling and travelling by boat. It offers a way to connect archaeological heritage with landscape and nature, and to rediscover through direct experience a history spanning thousands of years, shaped in no small part by its waterways.