The Bosco della Mesola: the last forest of the Po delta and its deer

There is a corner of Emilia-Romagna where the Po delta ceases to be water and reeds and becomes forest. The Bosco della Mesola, just beyond the town of Mesola in the province of Ferrara, is one of the last and best-preserved fragments of lowland forest in Italy: over a thousand hectares that hold the memory of the great coastal woods that once accompanied the Adriatic. Walking through it means crossing a landscape that almost everywhere along the plain has been erased by agriculture.

The Mesola deer

Here lives a presence that alone is worth the journey: the Mesola deer. It is the only native red deer population in peninsular Italy, isolated for centuries in the delta and the bearer of a unique genetic heritage, different from every other European population. Isolation has shaped a hardier animal of modest size, adapted to a poor environment. Alongside it, among holm oaks and pines, move herds of fallow deer, easier to spot along the trails early in the morning or towards sunset.

The Mediterranean scrub

The forest also holds a botanical record: it is the northernmost Mediterranean scrub in Europe, a mosaic of holm oak, manna ash, hawthorn and butcher's broom growing on ancient fossil dunes. It is a fragile environment, and for this reason only a portion of the reserve is open to visitors, walkable on foot or by bicycle along three signposted routes ranging from about two to five kilometres.

It is precisely this protection that makes the Mesola a destination for authentic undertourism. You enter with a symbolic ticket, on the days and at the times set by the reserve, and you walk in silence: no crowds, no queues, only the rustle of leaves and, with a little luck and respect, the appearance of a deer among the trees.

The castle and surroundings

A few minutes away is the Castello della Mesola, built by the Este family who came here to hunt, today linked to a route dedicated to the deer and the forest. From here you can continue towards the rest of the delta. The advice is simple: move slowly, stay on the trails and let the forest set the pace.

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How to get there

The Bosco della Mesola is most easily reached by car, set as it is within the Po Delta between Mesola and the Comacchio coast, following the roads that run along the Ferrara coastline. There is no railway station in the forest: the nearest is at Codigoro, from which you continue by local transport, while the main hub for the area is Ferrara. The reference airports are Bologna and Venice.

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