I Marinati di Comacchio - Comacchio (FE) - Emilia Romagna

The Po river Delta has been home to eel-marinating factories for centuries. The most important processing centre was the 'Manifattura dei Marinati' in Comacchio, founded in 1905. The word "Manifattura" describes a factory where hundreds of people were employed, but the job was still hand craft, not yet industrialised. Manifattura dei Marinati is now used both as a museum and as a historical fish processing plant. Comacchio Valleys is a natural area protected by the Po river Delta Regional Park. Here only adult wild eels from the valley are caught and then processed with traditional techniques. The eels are caught in barriers called "lavorieri", positioned near the outlets to the sea. They are then transported to the factory in boats called "marotte", with special systems for changing the water to keep the eels alive. The tradition of processing wild eel in Comacchio Valleys was almost lost: Work and Services Cooperative with the Po Delta Park, managed to restart the processing cycle of the wild eels, that is today a Slow Food Presidium. Love for the land, heritage, passion, but also social commitment: the productive activity of the Cooperative is aimed at the inclusion in the world of work of people with disabilities and social fragility