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The name Falconera was given to this mixed land-water environment when, before it was favored by humans, it was privileged by Falcons, particularly the Falcus Peregrinus. The first humans, therefore, became interested in it for the purpose of capturing the raptors, which were later tamed and sold to noble knights for hunting and fishing practices in the hinterland.
Its morphological origin is attributed to Lio Piccolo, the vegetable gardens of Venice. When man settles on the island, he builds a dike to protect the soil from the tides and surrounds a part of the water, constituting an example of a fishing valley (<vallum>, from the Latin barrier). At first, the dike was made of marsh reeds and then strengthened by putting in consolidated soil with the planting of tamarisks.
Over the centuries, the island will host a community of monks and various families who will preserve and pass on the traditional agricultural and fishing features.
The families of Bozzato and Bardella, who lived on the island and preserved it with great love and work from the 1700s to the end of the 1900s, are deeply ingrained in the memory of this place.
The island, being part of the north lagoon of Venice, is a UNESCO heritage site since 1987.
With its 20 hectares of land and 36 of water, it constitutes a unique biotope and it was here that our conservation project was born in 2017, whose goals are the enhancement and ecological sustainability of the territory through the promotion of typical local products and naturalistic tourism.
Our commitment will be to preserve the natural environment in such a way that flora, fauna, and landscape are an authentic expression of what nature, according to its laws, promotes, trying not to alter its balance. Only in this way will the products and activities that we will derive from it give us back the authentic scents and flavors of ancient times.
The Falconera island, like all the Lagoon Valleys, has its own unique biotope with specific characteristics that are difficult to replicate elsewhere, the result of an unstable and constantly evolving balance.
Approaching such a marginal reality, considering how small it is compared to the entire planet, allows us to easily and immediately focus on the perception of nature and in particular its fragility.
This is not a large English meadow. There are resident and passing animals, from the smallest fish to the largest raptor, passing through a myriad of insects. Even if some do not like them, they are evidence of a healthy environment and, therefore, sacred to man. There are also plants that change and travel creating different scenarios during the seasons.
The thousand colors of this garden make it a triumph of nature and there is nothing left but to be guardians of its immense beauty.
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Live on the Island
In this land, we aim to cultivate typical products of the Venice Lagoon with the intention of preserving, rediscovering, and spreading a cultural heritage made up of colors, flavors, and scents from ancient local traditions.
Our products are fed by water and soil rich in shells and contain the unique flavor of the sea. Following the rhythm and seasons of nature, we adhere to the logic of nature.
The morphological aspect of the island gives an idea of its constitution: there is water inside and outside, or rather, the valley has more water than land. For centuries, extensive aquaculture has been practiced here, a completely natural fish farming system that does not use feed, so the fish feeds and grows in its natural habitat. In addition, the vital spaces of the specimens are respected according to nature, without overloading the ecosystem. Man has the fundamental role of valley cultivator, and it is his task to orchestrate the keys and grids in a wise manner, ensuring maximum health and salubrity to the valley system.
Fish are introduced into the valley system in spring through natural breeding: the keys of the valley are opened to the sea, allowing all marine organisms to enter. Production can be increased by planting young specimens that are purchased and introduced by man into the system.
The fishing period is in “fraìma”: in the autumn, when the weather and climate conditions deteriorate, the fish feel the natural call of the sea and prepare for a sort of contra-migration - the so-called unloading - which leads them to channel en masse towards the mouth of the valley, ready to reach the sea waters that guarantee higher temperatures in the winter, as the water in the lagoon cools faster due to the shallow bottom.
To fish, nets with a variable mesh are pulled, depending on the size of the fish; the catch is made on selection, and only the largest fish will be sold. The smaller ones are placed in deep fish ponds to allow them to survive the colder temperatures of winter, to be then reintroduced into the valley system in the spring.
Extensive aquaculture is certainly a fundamental example of interaction between human activity and environmental conservation. The species that are typically raised in the valleys of the Venice lagoon are the gilt-head bream, the sea bass, the cephalopod and the eel, but depending on the seasons you can find mullets, cuttlefish, gray mullets, small tunas, soles, sand smelts and many other inhabitants, and not, of the salt lagoon.
Who knows what surprises the sea will bring us...
Beekeeping, a practice that has been carried out on the island for 400 years, plays an essential role for the entire ecosystem. The health of the bees is a testimony to a natural habitat, not threatened by the common use of pesticides or acaricides in intensive monocultures.
Bees are important for the pollination of our flowers: they collect pollen as an excellent food supplement and skillfully work the nectar into honey.
The idea is that a bee hive is placed on a land and that the insects capture the weather, the vegetation, the topography, so many snapshots in time, summer or autumn wildflowers: all this is reflected in the honey. Our honey has a salty taste of Laguna due to the strong presence of Tamerice and Barena, where the predominant flowers are Limonium serotinum and Aster tripolium.
“And now ask yourselves in your heart: 'How will we distinguish what is good from what is evil in pleasure?' Go to the fields and your gardens, and you will see that the pleasure of the bee is to gather honey from the flower. But it is also the pleasure of the flower to grant the bee its honey. For a flower to the bee is the source of life. And a bee for the flower is a messenger of love. And for both, for the bee and for the flower, to give and receive pleasure is together ecstasy and need.” Kahlil Gibran
Agriculture is the soul of this Island, a territory that has always been part of the Orchards of Venice. From here, in the tradition of the Bozzato and Bardella families, the desire was born to cultivate local typical products, using sustainable techniques that respect the soil, its shape, and its inhabitants, our best allies.
The current orchard consists of many ancient and resilient cultivars, as they have survived numerous sea storms, the last one being in 2018.
We have introduced excellent collaborators: Californian earthworms for the production of humus with vegetable waste and manure from our horses and bees, excellent pollinators.
Off the field: depending on the seasons, you can find many wild herbs: mallows, yarrow, carrots, wild asparagus, saltwort, sponges, mushrooms, wild berries, and a thousand other varieties of flowers and plants. Because, contrary to what is said, the lawn is constantly moving.
