Bosco Olmè

Who hasn’t dreamed of time traveling? There is a place in the Treviso plain where this is possible. We are talking about Bosco Olmè, a forest that allows us to appreciate the Po Valley of past centuries: a vast stretch of forest where oaks, elms and ash trees reigned supreme. This millennia-old lowland forest, the largest of those that have survived to the present day, has seen many civilizations flourish: the first inhabitants of the Po Valley, who lived in pile dwellings with huts covered in yellow thatch; the Etruscans and the Gallic populations; the Romans, who harvested wood and acorns; the Serenissima Republic of Venice, which managed the forests in a way that anticipated by several centuries the concept of sustainability; and finally us.

Nowadays, the landscape has radically changed because agriculture has taken the place of most pastures and forests. For this reason, Bosco Olmè in Cessalto, the last great relic of a bygone glory and a safe haven for many animals, has priceless value: it keeps the memory of our roots alive in our minds and allows us to travel, if only for a few hours on a summer afternoon, into the past.

This forest is part of Associazione Forestale di Pianura (Lowland Forest Association).