100 Places To Remember: Principato di Lucedio Upper Po Valley, Italy
Geschreven op 10-2-2010 - Erik van Erne. Geplaatst in Natuur
The Cradle of Italian Rice Production. The vast Po Valley in northern Italy has been cultivated since ancient Etruscan and Roman times. Fed by Alpine glaciers, the mighty Po River and its 25 tributaries irrigate the huge, flat plain of the valley, known as the breadbasket of Italy.
Since medieval times, an extensive irrigation system made up of canals has re-routed water from the rivers, spreading it over most of the valley.
Italy is the largest rice producer in Europe and rice is a prominent crop in the valley, where local people are more likely to eat risotto than pasta. Other local crops include soya beans, corn and wheat.
Lucedio Abbey founded by Cistercian monks in the Upper Po Valley region of Piemonte in 1123 is the cradle of Italian rice production. This is where the crop was introduced to the country in the 14th century. The original octagonal bell tower, dating from around 1200, is still found on the site of the old abbey beside the Renaissance and baroque structures that are reflected in the reservoir, formed by dams on the river to provide water for modern rice production.
For more than two centuries, the estate has been in the hands of various Italian aristocrats, among them Napoleons brother-in-law, Prince Camillo Borghese. It is now called Principato di Lucedio (The Princely Estate of Lucedio).
Rice production in the Po Valley is heavily dependent on water. Alpine glaciers are predicted to shrink, annual average rainfall to fall and temperatures to rise, which could potentially disrupt the flow of the Po River and its tributaries and endanger the production of rice and other vital agricultural crops in the valley.
