Riserva naturale Bosco della Mesola, State nature reserve in Province of Ferrara, Italy.

Bosco della Mesola is a protected forest reserve situated on the plain between the Po river branches and the Adriatic coast, characterized by ancient sand ridges and sandy soil. The area contains different woodland types and wetlands that support diverse plant and animal life.

The woodland formed during the Middle Ages on sandy ridges created by the Po river branches and became the largest forested area in the Ferrara province. It was later protected as a reserve to preserve the rare natural conditions of the plain.

The forest was kept by the House of Este for hunting red deer and fallow deer, and Duke Alfonso II d'Este had it enclosed by a wall between 1578 and 1583. The Museo del bosco e del cervo della Mesola, on the second floor of Mesola castle, displays the reserve's woodland and its deer.

The deer can be observed from an electric minibus between March and the end of October. The reserve covers 835.70 hectares across the municipalities of Goro, Codigoro and Mesola, so plan your route before setting out. The woodland museum and deer museum are on the second floor of Mesola Castle.

About 300 Mesola deer, or dune deer, live here, descended from the ancient deer of the Po Valley and more closely related to Sardinian, Corsican and North African deer than to other Italian populations. Some were released in Calabria to found new herds. A museum on the castle's second floor displays the animal and the woodland.