The Po Delta represents one of Europe’s largest nature reserves where nature and people exist side by side. A true paradise for nature lovers, full of birds wintering, nesting or in transit such as herons, ducks, snowy egrets, terns, avocets, black-winged stilts, cormorants, owls, buzzards, as well as mammals such as the awe-inspiring dune deer.

The River Po and its Delta tributaries form a unique labyrinth of waterways to explore slowly, in motor boats or small boats. You can start from Goro or Gorino, two picturesque fishing villages with their fishing ports overlooking the Sacca di Goro and the Po di Goro. From spring to autumn there are a number of boat trips and birdwatching activities available along the River Po.

On the Scannone di Goro, the so-called Island of Love, stands the 22-metre high Goro Lighthouse whose light can be seen from 10 miles away. Not far from here lies the old lighthouse, Lanterna Vecchia, built in 1864,which today houses a nature observatory.

The Sacca di Goro is famous formussel and clam farming: you can visit processing plants and watch fishing in the lagoon using the so-called ‘rasca’.

Along the left bank of the Po di Goro, San Basilio and the water pump of  Ca’ Vendramin are both worth visiting. Within the Veneto area, there are also beautiful boat trips from Porto Tolle - Cà Tiepolo and from Pila, to explore the main tributaries of the River Po.

The Foce del Po di Volano nature reserve also organises boat trips through a labyrinth of reed thickets. You can also access the coastal pine forest along footpaths and cycle paths.

Not far from here is the Forest of Mesola Nature Reserve. This woodland presumably originated in the Middle Ages on sandbar dunes formed by the Po di Goro and the Po di Volano. Today, it is one of the last and best preserved remnants of a larger woodland located on the plain, what remains of the ancient forests that used to cover the Adriatic coast until a few centuries ago. The forestcannot be visited in its entirety but on certain accessible pathsyou can sometimes spot stags and deers.