From the intersection in the Costa di Arquà locality, keeping the Raineriana Fountain temple on the right, take the road towards Galzignano and after about 50 meters, you will see on the left the sign indicating the start of the trail which, in its initial stretch, is paved and bordered by hedges and spontaneous species.
In a slight ascent, you cross the southern side of Calbarina, among fields and mulberries, elder, privet, and pomegranate. From above, you can observe the Lago della Costa, a natural mirror of water fed by thermal springs, where archaeological finds dating back to the Bronze Age were recovered.
As the first variation, you proceed left on a carriage road among hedges, olive groves, and private properties until a fork where you keep left until entering via Costa; you turn immediately right, until the left fork for Monte Piccolo. You follow the gentle ascent, continuing right, alongside some cultivated fields bordered by robinia, elm, field maple, and mulberry trees. Soon, the presence of ash trees, chestnuts, and hazels marks the change of slope. The trail crosses a robinia forest, curves, and climbs to a dry stone wall. Entering a staircase, you observe a stretch of mixed oak forest with the presence of tree heather and strawberry tree, and finally, a dense forest predominantly of chestnuts. At the end of the climb, we reach a fence, a crossing point with the Atestino Trail.
The second variant involves turning right at the end of the ascent on the southern slope of Calbarina, among interesting field and spontaneous vegetation. Shortly after, you follow the direction to the wet area of Corte Borin; the forest is denser with undergrowth characterized by ivy and butcher's broom. The descent leads to the resting area by the pond. The path resumes, following the trail on the flat of the countryside, bordering fields and hazels, and after a gentle ascent, the fenced area of via Mondonego. It continues into a grove of Chinese mulberry trees, followed by wide open spaces. The next clearing is a limestone vegro where numerous orchid species bloom in spring; along the uphill path, shrubs of dog rose and intertwined with ash, oaks, acacia, ailanthus, and black hornbeam dominate. At the entrance of the forest, near a bench, some holm oaks appear, while shortly beyond begins the area of reforestation with black pine.
The path skirts other vegro areas, exposed to the southwest, with elements of Mediterranean scrub such as holm oak and sage-leaved cistus. A gentle rise resumes among brooms and black pines up to the height of a majestic cypress, where the path descends, becoming steeper, and after a wide curve reaches a fork. Continuing straight leads to a panoramic point; going back, after a bend, the loop closes and the path rejoins the initial track.
COURT BORIN POND
On the northern slope of Monte Calbarina, there is a hypothemal spring that has created, through successive excavations, a pond: the Corte Borin pond. This site is important because it is useful for the settlement of aquatic birds and other vertebrates, such as the Common Toad (Bufo bufo), which 'migrates' here to reproduce, and the European Pond Turtle (Emys orbicularis).
THE LAKE OF COSTA
Named after the street that runs along the southern slope of Monte Calbarina, it extends in a depression surrounded by wooded hills: to the south is Monte Ricco, to the north are the Piccolo and Calbarina mountains. Surrounded by a dense border of reeds, numerous groups of willows and cypresses grow on its shores.
The Costa pond, a site of great natural-ecological interest, is the largest and best-known natural water basin in the Euganean Hills, and is fed by thermal spring waters, which emerge in pools that are also clearly visible on the surface, at a temperature of about 45°C, allowing the lake to never drop below 17–18°C even in winter. In the spring season, following heavier rains, waters from the fields situated uphill and from several cold springs originating at higher altitudes flow into the basin. The abundant presence of peat, a material derived from decaying plant remains predominantly from lake or marsh, in the surrounding soils, besides giving a characteristic black color to the earth, attests to the fact that the lake was much larger and has gradually shrunk.
These deposits date back to the Quaternary and have been studied for the presence of fossil pollen from ancient plants that have documented the evolution of climate and vegetation since the glaciations. On average, it is about ten meters deep, but in some areas, where the thermal springs flow, it can even reach a depth of 17-19 meters. The lake is important for the high quality of the mud contained in it and used for therapeutic purposes, making it the main site for their extraction and use in the Euganean thermal complex facilities. Historically, it is significant for the interesting findings of archaeological artifacts that testify to the presence of pile-dwelling settlements dating back to the Bronze Age. It was also known as the “lake of the seven springs,” due to the presence of numerous cold, hot, saline, and sulfurous springs that fed it. A scene from “The Last Letters of Jacopo Ortis” is likely set in this place, as a walk of Jacopo and Teresa “along the bank of a small stream to the lake of the five springs” is described.
Around the site, many legends and popular tales were born, especially linked to the mysterious aspect it takes on in winter when the smoke produced by the steam of its warm waters envelops it in an evocative aura.
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