Palaeohydrography and ancient settlements in the Adige River plain, between Rovigo and Adria (Italy)

This research aims to study the relationship between man and environment in the Adige and Po fluvial systems and their influences to the natural and artificial landscapes during the centuries. Case studies represent two good examples in which these relations produced particular morphologies and anthropic settlements of the past that can be studied with remote sensing firstly. Field survey, stratigraphical study and archaeological survey have been driven by photo aerial analysis and interpretation. The Villadose case investigates a situation in which the fluvial landforms influenced the choice of an ancient settlement. From the archaeological viewpoint the area is of great interest due to the presence of important Bronze and Iron Age sites and the existence of an exceptionally well-preserved roman centuriation, which extends for 250 km2 from the city of Rovigo almost until the Lagoon of Venice. The Pettorazza case is an example in which man modifies the natural fluvial system once it has become a danger with its avulsions and crevasses. In order to clarify the stratigraphy of the alluvial ridge of the Adige river which crosses the area between Rovigo and Adria, a transect of boreholes has been made in the Pettorazza site.