An oasis of peace with Venice on the horizon: a trip to Campalto between art, nature and good food

The story

When tourists are about to land at Venice's Marco Polo Airport, one of the first and closest places they see is Campalto, which overlooks the Venetian Lagoon, forming an urban continuum with Mestre up to San Giuliano park. Belonging to the municipality of Favaro Veneto, through history the village has always stood out for its strategic position, a feature that helped it in trade but also exposed it to some danger, such as the Hungarian invasion in 890, when they camped right in the area now called Campi Ungareschi. If we had arrived here anticipating even the fierce Hungarians, we would have found the first stilt-house settlements, and in 829 we could have witnessed the turbulent events of Pietro Caroso's conspiracy, during which some Venetians took refuge in the area of San Martino in Strata before returning to the city and driving out the usurper.

In Roman times the via Annia passed through here, and the pretty marina of Passo once welcomed the ferries used to cross the Osellino canal and then the Lagoon, by farmers heading to Venice to sell their produce. During our walk we return to the scene of the ancient conspiracy and visit the church of San Martino di Strata, built from 1505 at the wish of the patrician Morosini family, who decided to rebuild the old church, by then abandoned. In November 2013 the village celebrated the church's 500th anniversary. The atmosphere of the Serenissima comes alive again near the bridge too, where a stone marker from 1791, the only survivor of the original 128, still marks the lagoon's boundary line, beyond which any agricultural or building work was forbidden.

We stay immersed in Venetian tradition during our dinner too, choosing to stop at the very historic Trattoria da Ugo, for 40 years a stronghold of homely Venetian cooking. After leaving the car in the large car park, we settle into the restaurant's characteristic dining room, and exchanging a few words with the owner, Mr Ugo Zanon, we discover that for three years his family has also run the Hotel Ristorante Antica Fenice, barely a kilometre away. While at Ugo's you find typical cooking and a menu that for over forty years has resisted fashions and changes, keeping the success of traditional dishes unchanged, at the Antica Fenice, an elegant and refined restaurant ideal for romantic dinners, you can find a more careful and sophisticated interpretation of dishes, in step with the times. What unites the two establishments is, besides the family management, the utmost attention to quality.

Mr Ugo explains the different philosophy of the two places, illustrating the dish that is the flagship for both restaurants: the catalana of lobster and shellfish. “At our place the dish is made up of half a lobster and unshelled shellfish, covered with raw vegetables (cherry tomatoes, carrots, celery and red onion), while at the Antica Fenice you'll find it made on a bed of raw vegetables cut into cubes, with already-shelled lobster and shellfish on top. It's the same dish, and yet they are two completely different results: our catalana is voluminous and very tasty, but it takes a bit of effort to eat, while the other is more compact, nicer to look at and easier to eat.

Despite the considerable success the Antica Fenice's catalana is having, we prefer not to change, to keep the bond with our more habitual customers.” We begin our dinner enjoying succulent specialities such as polenta with lagoon shrimps (schie) and mixed boiled fish, spaghetti with clams and little gnocchi with spider crab. The mixed grill and fried fish are excellent too, and we decide to finish with a tasty amaretti and apple tart. The elegant rooms of the Hotel Antica Fenice will be our home for the rest of the weekend, and given the structure's strategic position (between Venice and Marco Polo Airport) and its closeness to the immense San Giuliano Park, we dedicate the second day of our trip to regenerating walks amid the greenery.

The park, after careful redevelopment work, has become one of the most important places for studying the lagoon environment, as well as a leisure destination for tourists and families. Extending over 74 hectares, it is a meeting point between the mainland of Mestre and Venice, clearly visible from its territory, rich in recreational and refreshment areas, equipped areas and sports fields, as well as pedestrian and cycle paths. When evening falls, a fantastic dinner awaits us, this time in the elegant and very warm setting of the Ristorante Antica Fenice, where we are welcomed by Mrs Barbara, Mr Ugo's daughter, and her husband Marco.

Our journey through the flavours of the area, brought up to date by the chefs' imagination, begins with a carousel of raw dishes from the Antica Fenice: sea bass carpaccio, tuna tartare, dentex ceviche, langoustine, oyster, mantis shrimp and king prawn with pairings of salts and little sauces. We continue with a trio of marinated salmon, creamed salt cod and smoked tuna. After these exquisite starters we enjoy fish ravioli with spider crab sauce, then move on to sea bass fillet with aubergines, lime sauce and bottarga. We wash down these delights with a selection of wines chosen from the excellent wine list, and finally we give in to the sweet temptation of crema catalana with amaretti and mango.

Now that we've discovered this very pleasant corner of peace at the gates of Venice, we're certain we'll return here for new walks in the park and at the little harbour, to enjoy lunches in company at Ugo's, or candlelit dinners in the magnificent garden of the Antica Fenice.