Duration: two nights, three days.

Way of transport: by car and bike

Itinerary: Ravenna, Sant'Alberto, Comacchio Valleys, Argenta and Campotto.

 

DAY 1 – RAVENNA

Arrive in Ravenna in the morning. Must-see: a visit to the historical centre of the city that welcomed Dante in the last years of his life. Absolute musts are: Dante's Tomb, the Dante Museum and Centre of Studies, the Basilica of San Francesco (where Dante went to pray and meditate, and where his funeral was held), the Da Polenta Palaces (including "Casa di Francesca" (Francesca da Rimini's Home, on Via Zagarelli 2, one of the oldest residences in the city) and the mosaics that inspired him the most: those of the Mausoleum of Galla Placidia, the Basilica of San Vitale, Sant’Apollinare Nuovo, the Archdiocesan Museum and the Baptistry of Neon.

Must-sees:

A visit to the Domus dei Tappeti di Pietra (Stone Carpets Domus), an extraordinary archaeological site, one of the most important discovered in recent decades. It is a complex of superimposed building structures that can be dated from the era of the Roman Republic (3rd-2nd century BC) through to the Byzantine period. After they were restored, beginning in 2002, the Stone Carpets were relocated to the site where they were discovered, an underground location created specifically, and which the public can access through the Church of Sant'Eufemia.

 

Just 8 km from Ravenna you can visit Sant'Apollinare in Classe, which is perhaps the greatest example of a paleochristian basilica. In spite of the pillaging that occurred over the centuries, this church has preserved the beauty of its original structure, and it is admired for the beautiful multicoloured mosaics of its apsidal vault.

 

DAY 2 – RAVENNA PINE FOREST, SANT'ALBERTO, COMACCHIO VALLEYS, ARGENTA

Let's explore the Po Delta Park.

Morning: hiking in the Ravenna Pine Forest, the famous "dark forest" of Dante's Inferno.

 

We'll travel to Sant'Alberto, just a few kilometres north of Ravenna. We'll explore the town, where we'll visit the Home of the Poet Olindo Guerrini and, in the Palazzone (a 17th century palace), the Visitor's Centre of the Po Delta Park. In Sant'Alberto: on the bank of the river Reno, we'll see the characteristic "cable ferry", which we'll use to reach the Agosta bank, the southern border of the Comacchio Valleys.

 

We recommend eating lunch at one of the traditional venues of the valley, where we can enjoy some fried Schie (small shrimp) and grilled eels soaked in some "Wine of the woods".

 

We'll take some binoculars with us and climb the Valle Zavelea Turret to enjoy the spectacle of nature near the peninsula of Boscoforte, a nesting place for all the animal species of the Valleys. We'll take the ferry back to Sant'Alberto and travel to Argenta, where we'll visit the Museum of the Valleys. For more information on timetables, booking and excursions, call the Museo NatuRa, Sant'Alberto (Ra).

 

DAY 3 – ARGENTA AND CAMPOTTO VALLEYS

A visit to the valleys of Argenta and Campotto is an absolute must: this area is rich with hygrophilous vegetation and wildlife. Must-sees: the Argenta Ecomuseum and the hundred year old water pumps of the Reno.

We recommend you bring your bike with you on your car and cycle along the level banks of the valleys.