Archaeology and Lagoon: Excavations and Exhibition in Lio Piccolo

Lio Piccolo: archaeology, landscape and knowledge of the territory

Lio Piccolo is one of the most significant places for understanding the history of the northern Venice Lagoon and the centuries-old relationship between communities and their environment. Among salt marshes, canals and ancient waterways, the “Vivere d’Acqua” project — coordinated by Ca’ Foscari University of Venice and the University of Bologna — studies ancient landscapes, productive sites and the hydro-environmental transformations that have shaped the lagoon over time.

Within this context, the new exhibition “Fare la Laguna, Fare in Laguna: Communities and Resources between Lio Piccolo and Altino” has been set up in the historic village of Lio Piccolo, alongside ongoing archaeological excavations at the nearby “Villa del Sale”. It offers visitors an engaging introduction to how the lagoon has been inhabited, worked and transformed by human activity across the centuries.

The archaeological excavations: the Villa del Sale and the Vivere d’Acqua project

The fourth archaeological campaign led by the Calaon–Cottica team is currently underway in the Villa del Sale area, located directly behind the agriturismo Le Saline. This site is considered crucial for reconstructing Roman presence in the northern lagoon and for understanding ancient economic activities linked to natural resources, particularly salt production and fishing.

These stratigraphic excavations are part of the wider Vivere d’Acqua research programme, which investigates the lagoon landscape from Roman times to the modern age. The discoveries contribute to a clearer picture of an ancient productive landscape, with structures, materials and ecofacts that illustrate everyday activities and settlement systems now submerged or altered by lagoon transformations.

The project also includes public activities, such as guided tours in Italian of the excavation site and “Archaeological Aperitifs”, informal meetings (held in Italian) designed to share research progress with residents, visitors and history enthusiasts.

The exhibition “Fare la Laguna, Fare in Laguna” at the Lio Piccolo Exhibition Centre

Hosted at the Exhibition Centre of the Borgo di Lio Piccolo, the exhibition “Fare la Laguna, Fare in Laguna: Communities and Resources between Lio Piccolo and Altino” is curated by Daniela Cottica, Annalisa Marzano and Diego Calaon, and organised in collaboration with: Ca’ Foscari University of Venice, University of Bologna, Soprintendenza ABAP of Venice, National Archaeological Museums of Venice and the Lagoon, Municipality of Cavallino-Treporti, Borgo di Lio Piccolo Association.

The exhibition presents, in a clear and accessible way, how the lagoon has been inhabited and transformed by local communities over the centuries. Texts, images, artefacts and ecofacts from the excavations at Lio Piccolo and other sites in the northern lagoon illustrate the evolving relationship between people, water and landscape: from salt production to fishing, from resource management to settlement forms between the Roman and modern periods.

It also dialogues with the permanent exhibition “Fragments of the Lagoon – Trade and Daily Life between the Roman and Modern Ages”, located in the same building, enriching the visitor’s understanding of the lagoon’s historical context.

Opening hours

Open on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays until 29 March 2026

10:00 – 12:00
15:00 – 17:30

Note: Access to the village is on foot or by bicycle only (ZTRU zone).

Recommended insight: the documentary dedicated to Ernesto “Tito” Canal

To complement the visit to the exhibition and the excavations, we recommend the documentary dedicated to Ernesto “Tito” Canal (1924–2018), one of the most important figures in the study of the Venice Lagoon. A remarkably intuitive self-taught researcher, Canal devoted his life to field exploration, navigating marshes, canals and shallow waters with extraordinary observational skill. His insights helped reshape the understanding of the ancient lagoon, anticipating topics now confirmed by academic research: hydrological evolution, environmental dynamics and human presence in areas that are today submerged.

The Italian-language film, created by Marino Rossi and Pierandrea Gagliardi, retraces Canal’s most significant discoveries and includes rare material, such as an unpublished interview recorded in 2012. Through archival footage and direct accounts, viewers enter Canal’s world: that of an explorer who “knew how to see with the heart”, able to read faint signs in the lagoon landscape and transform them into historical interpretations.

The documentary is both a tribute to the scientific and human value of his work and an invitation to observe the lagoon with care and awareness. As Canal often reminded us, “these studies help us understand where we come from and where we are going.”
It is an ideal addition for those wishing to better understand the context behind the Villa del Sale excavations and the exhibition Fare la Laguna, Fare in Laguna, offering a rich and meaningful perspective on the history of the lagoon.