RAVENNA, ITALY

Departing from the pier with our guide, we travel to Po Delta Park, the central station for the city of Comacchio.

Departing from the pier with our guide, we travel to Po Delta Park, the central station for the city of Comacchio. Here we will have a short stop to admire this characteristic lagoon town. Comacchio maintains its peculiar charm of ‘Venice in Miniature’ due to the town lying on 13 different islets linked one to the other by bridges, the most famous of which is the ‘Treponti’ series of bridges; built in 1634, it offers the most magnificent views over the town. Comacchio is a beautiful old settlement, locally known for its fishing and production of salt. Today the streets between the canals are full of monuments, churches and towers. Our guide will lead us around the small town before we are given some free time to explore this intricate network of bridges and streets by ourselves. Following our visit to Comacchio we shall proceed towards Pomposa Abbey, passing through the Bertuzzi Valley – which owing to its distinctive vegetation has large presence of birds throughout the year, in particular flamingos in the spring – and the Cannevie-Porticini Valley. The whole area is famous for its ‘Valli’ (hilly esplanades) which are considered to be civic property and are part of one of the most important brackish areas of Italy. Pomposa Abbey is a Benedictine monastery, dating back to the 10th century, and is notably one of the most appealing Italian churches of the Romanesque period. A stop will be made here, to visit the wonderful monument housing beautiful frescos of Giotto’s school, terracotta friezes and Byzantine sculptures. After the visit to Pomposa Abbey, we reboard our coach to drive along the ‘Via Romea’ road – which offers attractive views of the valleys and woodland – back to Ravenna, to rejoin our awaiting ship. Please note this tour involves approximately 2 hours of walking, with steps and bridges being encountered.