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The territory of Ravenna, even if intensely modified by the hand of man, has maintained unique and evocative natural environments, conserved in protected zones or integral reserves, mostly in the Po Delta regional park which is home to animal and plant species of great interest and diverse habitats such as the marshes, salt pans, lagoons and forests.
Of extraordinary importance are the marshy areas, residues of ancient swamps which in the distant past surrounded Ravenna: Punte Alberete and the Baiona tideway among the silent swamped forests and cane breaks afford shelter for rare bird species. The free winding mouth of the Bevano is the only intact river mouth on the northern Adriatic with river meanderings and shallow bottom sand bar and an almost unique landscape of 'living' dunes in the process of formation and continuous reshaping. The pinewoods of San Vitale and Classe, formerly owned by the two main Benedictine monasteries Ravenna and today public property, with the green patches of umbrella pines, the fragrant flowering hawthorn, the motionless waters of the shallow lakes reflecting the wings of the herons where, still vibrant with the seduction that attracted Dante and Botticelli, Boccaccio and Byron, Oscar Wilde and D'Annunzio. The parks of Ravenna are large and have recreation areas for the youngest. The Astronomical Observatory is located in the Public Gardens, the greenery of Theodoric's Park surrounds the mausoleum of the great Ostrogoth king, in the Rasponi Garden rediscover the forgotten herbs and the park of Rocca Brancaleone contains tree species all of different kinds. Ravenna is a city of art just a short distance from the sea, its wide beaches of clear fine sand, which stretch for 35 kilometres and offer a great variety of opportunities for visits and holidays, have recreation facilities and form a part of the harmonious whole together with the clean sea, pinewoods and lagoons. Just a few kilometres from the coast there is the Paguro wreck reserve; this protected biological area provides a unique opportunity for divers and represents an ecological niche which besides being of great scientific interest, is also a place where many species find shelter. Inland, the restructured Palace of Sant'Alberto is the headquarters of NatuRA, the Alfredo Brandolini Ravenna Museum of Natural Science. The Museum has a wealth of historic collections of local fauna and at the moment contains didactic sections including the History of the Pinewoods of Ravenna. NatuRA makes a broad ranging connection between the collections and the environment of Ravenna.
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