Parco regionale del Delta del Po, Regional park in Ferrara and Ravenna provinces, Italy
Parco regionale del Delta del Po covers about 54,000 hectares between the provinces of Ferrara and Ravenna, from the Po di Goro to the mouths of the Reno, Lamone and Bevano. It is divided into six stations, including the Valli di Comacchio, the largest at 15,105 hectares, and the Volano-Mesola-Goro station with the Mesola Forest and Pomposa Abbey.
The park was established in 1988 and covers about 54,000 hectares across the provinces of Ferrara and Ravenna. On 2 December 1999 it joined the UNESCO World Heritage list together with the city of Ferrara. In June 2015 it was recognised, alongside the Veneto Po Delta park, as a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve under the Man and Biosphere programme.
Pomposa Abbey, in the Volano-Mesola-Goro station, dates to the 9th century, not the 11th. The eel is the traditional food of the Valli di Comacchio and its symbol. In the park stands the fisherman's house where Anita Garibaldi was taken on 2 August 1849, at Lido delle Nazioni.
Nine information centers are spread throughout the reserve and offer guided tours and equipment for cycling and observation activities. Trails and viewing platforms are designed for easy access, allowing visitors to explore the landscape at their own pace.
The park's symbol is the pied avocet, chosen to represent the protected area. Among its 344 bird species, the Rüppell's warbler has here its only irregular European nesting colony, and the spoonbill forms Italy's only breeding colonies, with about 70 pairs in the Comacchio valleys, Valle Mandriole and Punte Alberete.
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