This busy, charming town near San Donà di Piave is a little hub of agriculture and industry. The same was true in Roman times, when the Via Annia – an important road that linked Padua, Altino and Aquileia – ran through the Ceggia area and helped to make it particularly vibrant. After a Hungarian invasion in around 900 AD, the surrounding area turned into marshland. The local people began to look for a healthier place to live and withdrew to the higher part of the territory. The real founding of Ceggia tends to be dated back to this period. Tradition has it that the town’s name comes from the Latin “cilia maris”, meaning “sea shore”. In 1389, Ceggia fell under the rule of the Republic of Venice. Its new rulers had serious water-related problems and rather than draining the land around the town, they actually encouraged the spread of the marshes, which acted as an effective inland line of defence. It was not until the late 18th and early 19th centuries that significant land drainage and agricultural development work began. It continued after the unification of Italy thanks to invaluable, essential contributions from private investors. In recent years, Ceggia has experienced substantial growth in social, cultural and production terms. One of its crowning glories is its Carnival, which involves one of the biggest, most captivating and most important parades in North-East Italy. Thousands of visitors come to enjoy the masks and enormous themed floats in a wonderful little town that never fails to surprise people.