In Transit: Marano Lagoon

This is the Marano Lagoon along Italy’s northern Adriatic coast, facing north towards the Carnic Alps. The Bay of Trieste lies just up the coast to the east and the better known Venice Lagoon, a few kilometers along the coast to the west. With a surface area of about 160 sq kilometers, it’s the second largest lagoon in the Adriatic after the Venice Lagoon, which is the biggest in the Mediterranean world.

It’s a lot prettier to fly over, as we did early afternoon yesterday en route to nearby Trieste Airport (TRS), than it is to drive or ride through, as we did twice today on the way back to and from the airport to pick up our delayed luggage. And that I did dozens of times over the nearly two decades that I lived in Ljubljana, about 130 kilometers to the east, without giving it much thought. That was primarily because 1) the train line between Trieste and Venice runs well north of here, putting the lagoon well out of view and 2) similarly for the autostrada (which seems to be in a state of continual repair and upgrade). It was mostly flyover and drive through country.

These photos made me pay a bit more attention. For future reference, it’s home to two nature reserves: the Foci dello Stella Reserve and the Canal Novo Valley Nature Reserve. More than 400 birds have been identified at the former and more than 300 at the latter.

Photos from 20 December 2025