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All Italy Isola Boschina
AO Edited

Isola Boschina

One of the biggest islands in the River Po is a protected nature reserve, reachable only by a seasonal ford rich with endemic fauna, fossils, and late 19th-century buildings.

Ostiglia, Italy

Added By
Lakehurst
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The island path to River Po   Lakehurst / Atlas Obscura User
River Po from the island   Lakehurst / Atlas Obscura User
The house   Lakehurst / Atlas Obscura User
The colonnade   Lakehurst / Atlas Obscura User
The oven   Lakehurst / Atlas Obscura User
The same ford in summer   Lakehurst / Atlas Obscura User
The ford in late spring   Lakehurst / Atlas Obscura User
Bee shelters   Lakehurst / Atlas Obscura User
The ford from the island where is possible to see the train-bridge   Lakehurst / Atlas Obscura User
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Map of the island   Lakehurst / Atlas Obscura User
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About

Isola Boschina is the oldest known island of the river Po—the longest river in Italy. When the island emerged in the 17th century, it became property of the bishop of Mantua. The island is big enough and in a good position to be one of the few stable river islands.

The bishop gave the usage rights to a local noble family who eventually took the whole property. The island was kept in use for agricultural purposes until World War II. After the end of the war, the island was used for growing poplar trees. The natural forested areas on the island were diminished to allow more room for cultivating new trees. Only in the 1980s did the island become a protected area. 

Nowadays the island hosts a stable population of roe deer, foxes, and badgers; and birds such as brown kites, blackbirds, night herons, and woodpeckers. The island hosts even fossils that periodically resurface from the sandy ground.

On the highest point of the island stand some buildings from the late 19th century, including a house, a colonnade, and a small building with an oven, a rabbit house, and a chicken coop.

Related Tags

Nature Preserves Islands Rivers

Know Before You Go

The island is connected with the mainland by a ford traversable only during the dry season (winter or summer). 

The ford is at the end of a dirt road that starts from the embankment road that passes under the train bridge, and is reachable from the city center.

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Added By

Lakehurst

Published

November 8, 2024

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Sources
  • https://www.birdingplaces.eu/en/birdingplaces/italy/riserva-naturale-isola-boschina
  • http://www.parks.it/riserva.isola.boschina/pdf/gui-RISERVA-BOSCHINA.pdf
  • http://www.parks.it/riserva.isola.boschina/par.php
  • https://www.ersaf.lombardia.it/it/b/13263/isolaboschina
  • https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Riserva_naturale_Isola_Boschina
  • https://www.regione.lombardia.it/wps/portal/istituzionale/HP/DettaglioRedazionale/scopri-la-lombardia/ambiente/riserve-naturali/fascia-di-pianura/isola-boschina
Isola Boschina
16 Argine Po Fornaci
Ostiglia, 46035
Italy
45.049688, 11.148854
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