Lagosanto

Lagosanto – Memory of water and land in Ferrara's countryside

Lagosanto is an agricultural centre in the lowland territory of the "Basso Ferrarese". It was deeply changed by the great land reclamation of the 20th century, which has shaped its territory and defined its rural identity. Its origins are ancient and partially misterious, likely pre-roman and related to Spina, the nearby Etruscan city. During the Middle Ages, the city was simply known as Lago ("lake"). It was given its current name around the year 1000 in honor of the religious hermit Saint Appianus, a benedictine monk who lived and died here.

The history of Lagosanto, like that of all other nearby villages, was greatly influenced by the drainage of the land, which transformed it into an agrarian village and profoundly modified the territory. Up to the Seventies, the Canale di Marozzo passed through the center of the town; this canal, which linked Codigoro with Comacchio, may have represented the oldest route of communication in the lowland territory of the "Basso Ferrarese".

The pumping station of Marozzo, built in 1872, is what made the drainage of the Valle Gallare and its surroundings possible. It worked until 1986, when a more modern station was added. Both stations are now in the House of Memory, a museum about the history of mechanical land drainage. It tells the story of the land's evolution and the work of those who made it possible.

Discover the territory of Lagosanto

Marozzo water pumping station - Casa della Memoria