Ancient origins.

On a walk trough Bibione you would never imagine that among its fancy shops and modern buildings traces of a very ancient past are hidden: the birth of Bibione as a sea resort dates back to the 50s, but the history of this place began many, many years ago.
Up today there are only few findings on which you could base fascinating hypothesis (all to be proven) about ancient landscapes, populations and lifestyles. According to them, today's Bibione has very little to do with the land that was inhabited by prehistoric animals and submerged by the sea, whose level reached almost the top of the Alps.
After the sea level decreased, for the first time the human being reached this part of the world, living in improvised shelters and surviving trough hunting and fishing.
In the V. Millennium b.C. the population started to build small villages, to cultivate the land and to raise animals: old flints, ceramics and fossils are the only few traces, that have been left, testifying of this fascinating, ancient world.
On this discovery journey we go now up to 3000 years ago, when a mysterious and legendary population reached this region: the Venetians, a developed civilization that, according to some inscriptions, spoke the Venetian language of Etruscan origin, an idiom only known in this area.
The Venetians lived in tranquillity in the lagoon area, but soon enough they encountered another population of Celtic origin that stationed in the East: the Carnes. The immigration was so intense, that this region was afterwards named "Carnorum Regio": the Region of the Carnes.

The roman period: tangible traces.

The real history of Bibione begins with the presence of the Romans during the Empire Era: the Romans conquered the regions "Venetia" and Friuli and in 181 b.C. the colony of Aquilegia was fund. In 148 b.C. the first steps towards a road system were taken.
The place name of Bibione itself, according to several studies on this topic, has either a Latin or Roman heritage: the most credible hypothesis explains, that a long time ago there was a group of islands called "Bibiones", that were located in front of the river mouth Tagliamento, i.e. the now-a-days Porto Baseleghe.
This fascinating theory is linked to the excavations that were done in Bibione Pineta in the area called "Duna Mutteron dei Frati" in Val Grande.
The first excavation dates back to 1883 and brought to light ancient roman constructions, that consisted of wall buildings and mosaics floors, here also objects and tools of the daily life like colourful glass, terra cottas and pieces of amphorae were found.
The most interesting finding are two coins that portrait the Roman Emperors Giuliano and Flavio Vittore, these items allow us to place approximately the building back in time: it dates back to ancient times and was used during the IV century b.C.
Other excavations during 1932 supervised by Prof. Gellio Cassi - the father of the theory of the islands "Bibiones" - brought to light other buildings foundations as well as items from the Roman Empire Era.

Recent history

Among the year 1000 the land around Bibione passed under the jurisdiction of the Bishops of Concordia, as reported in the document of 996 signed by Otto III, Holy Roman Emperor and German King.
The Bibione we know today, according to some historians, dates back to the years 1200-1300, when the ancient "Islands Bibiones" melted with the coast and formed a long beach.
With the event of the Republic of Venice, in 1300-1400, these regions became part of the domains of Costantini and later on of Antonio Caccia.
Bibione had been forgotten for several years, being far away from the great events of history that were radically changing the status in other countries: the land of this region was inhabited by fishers and characterized by a dense pinewood where wild animals and especially horses lived.
With the Treaty of Campoformido in 1797 the territories around Bibione followed the events of the rest of the region Veneto trough its Austrian and French dominations until 1866, when this area became finally a part of the Reign of Italy: the region was still far away form being an organized and regulated territory: still a lot of work needed to be done to win back insalubrious and malaria infected zones, where floods were common.
The reclamation process of the lands started in the beginning of the XX century, when a group of people started to drain and make these swampy, marshy, deteriorated lands and dense pine forests areas suitable for cultivation and habitation.
In 1905 the "Consorzio di Bonifica di San Michele al Tagliamento" (the official local reclamation organization), conducted some relevant projects: canalizations, diking works (concrete and earth), creation of a road system with the realization of public streets and electricity supply.
This projects involved also Bibione: the area was drained and in 1030 everything was ready to bring the tourism to this region. The business activities started later on in the 50s. After the 2nd World War in Bibione only ruins like the buildings of the summer camp or the abandoned Villa of Doctor Mecchia were left; but in 1952 the construction process started with the realization of the first building, the current Pensione Paron.
The area was divided into plots, that were first purchased by companies like the Zerman - Pasotto from Verona and Cesare Branchi from Cremona; later, in 1956, many other pioneers invested their savings in Bibione: this is how the first Hotel of the city was built "the Bibioneö. In 1958 another important step was taken, with the paving of the main street.
In the official geographic map register of the Istituto Geografico Militare in Florence the name of Bibione appeared for the first time in 195: it is the original place name - after the theory of Gellio Cassi. The name became official with the publishing of the decree by the President of the Republic of Italy in 1960, when the city was also qualified as a sea resort.
Tourism activities started in 1953 and from than on they grow exponentially: in 1961, Bibione was entered in the Annual Book of the Touring Club for the first time and in 1963 the Tourist Information and Accommodation Agency was found.
The rest is history: Bibione kept on growing and developing its potential in full respect of nature. In this way it became one of the most beautiful sea resorts of Italy.