The Lago della Costa, located at the foot of the Monti Ricco, Piccolo and Calbarina, is the largest natural body of water in the Euganean Hills and is a place of extraordinary environmental, historical and archaeological interest. Included in the UNESCO site "Prehistoric Pile-Dwelling Sites of the Alpine Arc," it has guarded the remains of an ancient Bronze Age pile-dwelling settlement.
The area, inhabited since the III millennium B.C., has numerous artifacts that testify to the evolution of the people who lived there. Ancient dwellings on stilts, supported by oak beams, had wooden floors with stone hearths. Archaeological findings, including pottery and bone and horn tools, have allowed the settlement to be dated between the XXIII and XV centuries B.C..
A unique ecosystem between thermal waters and biodiversity
In addition to its historical importance, Costa Lake is a site of great ecological and landscape interest. Surrounded by a border of marsh reeds, it is home to a rich vegetation with willows and cypresses that accentuate its wild charm. Its waters, fed by natural thermal springs, maintain a constant temperature of between 17 and 45°C, creating an ideal microclimate for many plant and animal species.
The lake bottoms are rich in peat, evidence of the ancient extent of the body of water, and represent a valuable source of thermal mud, used in the establishments of the nearbyTermes of Abano and Montegrotto for its therapeutic properties.
Between history, literature and legends
Known at one time as the "Lake of the Seven Fountains" due to the presence of cold, hot, salty and sulfurous springs, Lake della Costa has also been a source of literary inspiration. It is believed that Ugo Foscolo, in the Ultime Letters of Jacopo Ortis, referred to this very place when describing a walk "along the bank of a little river as far as the lake of the five springs."Its waters, often shrouded in an evocative veil of steam in the winter months, have fueled numerous popular legends over time, making this corner of nature a place charged with mystery and charm.
