The legend
of Concordia and Portogruaro
The legend of the origins of Portogruaro, here briefly summarized, tells of Marcello and Nicola, Christian fishermen, the only survivors of the massacre of Concordia perpetrated by the hordes of Attila, who decided to immediately reconstruct the town on the banks of the River Lemene, but two kilometres further upstream. By boat they began transporting building material in order to construct the church, which they would devote to St. Andrew, and to raise the new bell tower. Unfortunately, the bricks laid during the day sank during the night into the marshy terrain due to the harmful effect of the salt that Attila had scattered on it. They then thought of consulting a hermit saint, Fra’ Camucino, who lived on the seashore between Porto Baseleghe and Bibione, at the Mottarone Dei Frari(…). The saint wept; he then filled a shell with his tears and gave it to the fishermen, telling them to go back and start rebuilding the town after cleansing with the tears the first brick, against the harm of Attila’s salt. They obeyed and indeed the church and the bell tower arose mirroring themselves in the Lemene water. The whole town was completed, although with empty houses and lifeless streets, and Marcello and Nicola, in order to be able to populate it, again sought help from Fra’ Camucino, who pleaded and attained from the Lord a second miracle. One night, in fact, whilst they were sitting near the church, on the bank of the Lemene which sparkled in the intense moonlight, a thousand cranes gently descended and laid down as many babies, half of them girls and half boys. Raised with love and care, they grew up wonderfully (…) (Nodari, 1997).