The fishing huts were built by the people living in the valley, by the river and by the sea: they were a much needed shelter for those who started living off fishing.
Fishing huts were generally built by the poor to meet their own subsistence needs, as can be seen by their location and the materials and techniques used.
Fishermen would need a place where to keep their tools, process the fish or find temporary shelter at night or in case of bad weather, when so required by long distances or fishing times.
With their big nets hanging over the water in the wetlands, these huts have been landmarks in the cultural and natural landscape of the region for centuries, starting from the 15th century, although the first direct evidence dates back to the 19th century.
The fishing hut evolved along with the people inhabiting this area: if at the beginning it mainly was a place to catch and sell fish, then turned into a shelter in times of war, and eventually became a recreational place.
The building materials changed as well, going from reeds to wood to swamp sawgrass to prefabricated and brick buildings.
The name capanno da pesca (fishing hut) refers to their architectural structure, as opposed to some of its synonyms, like bilancione (in Emilia and in the city of Ferrara) or padellone (in Romagna), which actually refer to the fishing equipment used, i.e. giant square nets that are immersed in the water and pulled out periodically (2 to 10 minutes).

Cesenatico Fishing Huts | Ph. Marco della Pasqua, WLM2014