An island town of the Po delta lagoons, living from salt and the fish of its valleys.
Its great days ended when Venice destroyed it in 946; by 1200 it is a small bishop's town whose salt and fisheries are coveted by Venice, Ravenna and Ferrara. The Po di Volano, on which its trade depended, has been losing water since the Ficarolo breach of 1152.
Who holds it
- Title
- Officers of Comacchio
- Since
- not pinned
- Confidence
- low
Comacchio's government in 1200 is not documented in the sources read. The archbishops of Ravenna had held the county of Comacchio by tenth-century grants, Venice had sacked it repeatedly in the early Middle Ages, and it passed to the Este only in 1299.
Lord in 1200
Not pinned: a lagoon town with its own bishop and townsmen, under the old comital rights of the archbishop of Ravenna and in Venice's shadow.
How things stand that morning
Governs its own lagoons in practice; overlord not pinned (archbishop of Ravenna in law).
Communities
Not documented.
Militia
Boatmen of the lagoons.
Walls and castle
An island town of canals and bridges.
Trade and crafts
Salt pans and the eel and fish valleys; boat traffic along the coast to Ravenna and Venice. The abbey of Pomposa owns a salt pan at Comacchio.
Where the sources disagree
Evidence: No source read describes Comacchio's government between 1100 and 1299.
On the map: The 1200 lagoons were larger and the coast further west; drawn as the town and its valleys.
Sources and studies
Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.