Home » Company » Born from the River Po

The cultivation of poplar along the rivers Po and Oglio and in the fields of the lower Po Valley

The Big River

The history of the River Po is quite fascinating. Long ago, the Po Valley was a huge sea. Afterwards, the Alps rose due to powerful cataclysms, while waters slowly disappeared from the area. Some of them were swallowed up for ever, such as the thermal ones that still flow out from the not so far town of Salsomaggiore; others disappeared more quickly, leaving shells and marine species which became the fossils that is still possible to find on the gullies of the Tuscan-Emilian Apennines. Between the Alps in the north and the Apennines in the south, the river carried tons of detritus for thousands of years and this gave birth to the largest Italian valley, constraining the Adriatic Sea to retire forever in its current seat.

Dangerous landscapes

There were no banks for centuries and centuries. Season by season, the River Po drew a continuously changing fluvial landscape: the riverbed width was imposing, extending for several kilometres; its tributaries were without banks too. The geography of banks, intermixed with forests, was an inextricable and treacherous labyrinth. The Romans drew the passage of the Emilia Way exactly in correspondence of the maximum southern extension of the river, in order to safely maintain the entire practicability between Milan and Rimini. With the fall of the Roman Empire, several populations joined the autochthonous ones; Byzantines and Lombards competed for lands and dominions in the Po Valley. But even after Charlemagne, the River Po was an uncontrolled river inspiring fear and would mark a hazardous natural frontier for a long time.

The River Po of Panguaneta

Medieval towns and City-Republic develop and the small nobility grows stronger in the countryside: in the twelfth century, the urban and rural fabric is already characterized by a rich structure. A slow but constant work of recovery and reclamation of lands is carried out in the Benedictine granges and the large feudal farms facing the river. The wild river landscape begins to be controlled through the first irrigation canals and the first artificial defences. Ferrymen carry people and animals between the two banks with boats. Fishing, farming, trade and markets strengthen and the river becomes a resource that develops a strong rural economy. River villages such as Panguaneta are built from the river to get back to it later, giving way to waters not tamed yet.

Hydraulic management

With the big hydraulic works carried out in the nineteenth century and after the unification of Italy, the Po basin acquires a new strategic and commercial importance and will be the productive heart of the industrial revolution. The customs between the different states overlooking the river were just fallen; an intense work of engineering took their place by drawing dams, banks, canals, etc. along the course of the river. The new hydraulic management allowed to tame the river at last: stable cultivations, wide shrubby and municipal spaces of woods redefined the river sides, anticipating the current landscape.

An environmental resource

The twentieth century marks the birth of the big Italian industry of wood processing. Sabbioneta is located in a strategic position between the rivers Po and Oglio. Poplar plantations alternate in an orderly way along the banks of the rivers and in the fields of the lower Po Valley. Together with other arboreal outcrops, these woods characterize the charming river landscape with an absolutely natural rhythm. “Going to the River Po" is still an intense and traditional invitation to naturalistic walks and excursions. The river fauna, the presence and nest-building of protected species, the increased environmental sensitivity make the river a huge park usable by everyone. The cultivations of Panguaneta, whose work in woodlands is certified, are evidence of one of the rare cases in which industry and nature cooperate, creating an extraordinary eco-sustainable supply chain.

Plywood for camper vans, DIY, boats, home furnishing, design, building, packaging, parquet flooring

Panguaneta plywood: the most efficient, resistant, versatile, decorative and obtained through the selection of the best raw materials, in order to guarantee its application in the most demanding sectors.