The richness of the area’s natural and environmental heritage is now protected at regional level through the Parco Regionale del Delta del Po, established in 1988. The area’s exceptional biodiversity, together with its historical, cultural and human stratification, also led in 2015 to the award of the MAB Biosphere Reserve designation for the “Po Delta” area. The MAB area extends across 15 municipalities between Emilia-Romagna and Veneto and covers a broad expanse of the delta territory.
Although they refer to distinct international programmes, the two designations recognised in the territory — the property inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List and the Po Delta Biosphere Reserve under the MAB Programme — share common objectives in terms of protection, sustainability and the integrated management of cultural and natural heritage.
The synergies between the two designations offer a strategic opportunity to strengthen multi-level governance, promote sustainable development practices, and activate pathways for education, participation and territorial innovation, in line with the 2030 Agenda and the founding principles of the UNESCO Conventions.
Within the territory enclosed by the boundaries of the World Heritage property, and in the coastal and marine areas closely connected to it, there are further areas of environmental significance.
MAB Delta del Po
General information
The Po Delta Biosphere Reserve is a delta plain in northern Italy, shaped by the action of the River Po and by recent human activities. Formed by the confluence of the river’s main branches, it includes coastal dune systems and sandy formations, lagoons, fishing valleys, marshes, fossil dunes, canals and coastal pine forests, extensive wetlands that are largely brackish, and cultivated land. These landscapes give the area a unique identity and a high level of biodiversity, thanks to the wide variety of habitats.
Ecological characteristics
The Po Delta is Italy’s only delta and plays a fundamental conservation role thanks to the variety of habitats, many of which are characterised by rarity. The Po Delta hosts over 360 bird species, including the purple heron (Ardea purpurea), the Eurasian spoonbill (Platalea leucorodia), the glossy ibis (Plegadis falcinellus), the little egret (Egretta garzetta) and a very large colony of pink flamingos (Phoenicoparrus roseus). Among mammals, the Cervo della Mesola is the only large ungulate found in the area. It is an endemic deer (Cervus elaphus), recognised as genetically distinct from other European populations. The Po Delta Biosphere Reserve includes the UNESCO World Heritage property “Ferrara, City of the Renaissance, and its Po Delta”, as well as three Ramsar Wetlands: “Valli di Gorino e Territori limitrofi”, “Valli Bertuzzi e specchi d’acqua limitrofi” and the “Valli residue del comprensorio di Comacchio”.
Socio-economic characteristics
Around 118,000 people live within the Po Delta Biosphere Reserve. It is also located near four major centres less than 100 km away: Rovigo, Ferrara, Venice and Ravenna. It is a significant tourist destination; tourism, together with agriculture and aquaculture, is the main economic activity of local communities. The reserve includes numerous sites of historical and cultural interest. San Basilio is an ancient settlement near the village of Ariano nel Polesine which, in Roman times, served as a trading port. The Torre dell’Abate, in the municipality of Mesola, is one of the most interesting hydraulic works in the Po Delta, while the Abbey of Pomposa in the municipality of Codigoro is a Romanesque-Byzantine masterpiece with its characteristic bell tower. Finally, the area includes numerous seventeenth-century Venetian villas scattered across the territory.
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