Casoni are traditionally built with natural materials such as wood, reeds and mud. They have a typical cone-shaped roof, which is covered with reeds, providing protection from the weather. The interior of these huts is simple but functional, designed to meet the needs of the fishermen who stayed there during their fishing trips.
The whole area provides a unique habitat for the local flora and fauna, with the banks lined with mature tamarisk bushes and water birds and turtles hiding in the reeds. The lagoon is home to countless species of fish, crustaceans and other animals that have been hunted by fishing families for centuries. Some go out to sea every day, others stay in the lagoon. They then unload their catch in the old fishing harbour in the centre of town - an amazing sight for tourists, where they can see crates full of all kinds of animals. There used to be a fish market next to the harbour, but the old building has been demolished.
Today, most of the fishermen live only in the town or its surroundings, but a few still remain in the original reed huts of Casoni on the so-called Fishermen's Island (Isola dei Pescatori) in the lagoon. The settlement functions more like an open-air museum, with a few old fishermen still living in their casoni, weaving nets, cooking on the fire and keeping chickens, ducks and rabbits.
Some of them even remember Ernest Hemingway himself, who used to stay here and come to the lagoon to hunt, his house can be seen from the boat. Hemingway also set the setting of his novel 'Beyond the River and Among the Trees' in Caorle and its lagoon.
Every morning and afternoon, the motor boat Arcobaleno departs from the old fishing harbour in the centre of Caorle to the lagoon. it takes approximately 2.5 hours and even plays a recorded short talk in Czech to the highlights. During a short stop at the Fishermen's Island, you can see the Casone from the inside and taste the Caffe alla Pescatora coffee - strong and very sweet, sweetened with a secret herb instead of sugar.
The fishing village can also be reached by bicycle; on the eastern edge of Caorle, after Levante beach, you pass between campsites towards Porto Falconera and take the dirt road on the left. At the end you have to dismount and leave your bike in the rack by the side of the road, then continue along the narrow paths between the huts and over wooden bridges, with only water and reeds all around.
