What you can find in Ravenna is a rare case of an industrial canal-port, connecting the centre of the city to the sea in about 11 km. The mouth of the port, between the beach towns of Marina di Ravenna and Porto Corsini, has become a significant tourist destination over the years, thanks to the many restaurants, the designated furniture and the unique experiences that have increasingly enriched the surroundings.
THE BREAKWATERS
After WWII, Ravenna and its port were strongly growing and thus in need of a development plan for all the area, from the sea to the city, focusing on the excavation of the seabed and especially on the building of two breakwaters.
With the aim of protecting the port and slowing down sanding, the beginning of the 1960s saw the construction of two very long breakwaters: the northern one is 2250 metres long and is named after Luciano Cavalcoli, then president of the Chamber of Commerce, and the southern one, 2450 metres long and dedicated to Benigno Zaccagnini, important politician who worked hard for the approval of the project.
Both breakwaters host picturesque “padelloni“, the fishing huts typical of the area, and are the perfect destination for walks all around the year. Thanks to their enviable length – they are Europe’s longest ones – they allow visitors to venture offshore for a splendid view of the open sea, the coast and sail boats.
MOLO DALMAZIA
Inside the area protected by the breakwaters are also two shorter docks, molo guardiano nord and molo guardiano sud, also known as Molo Dalmazia. With its 900 metres in length, this short dock serves as a protection both to the tourist port and to the fishing port of Marina di Ravenna.
Perfect for the continuation of your walk to the centre of the town, it is guarded by a 19th-century lighthouse that marks the primordial core of the port. The area features many shops and restaurants, the fish market and a charming refreshment point just above the water.
Fun facts: the building beside the lighthouse hosts a commemorative plaque paying homage to the first Italian civilian casualty of WWI. In Piazza Piloti del Porto instead is one of the fourty works realised by the French street artist Invader that you can find in the city.
CESTHA
Housed in the building that once hosted the fish market (whose spaces can still be seen as they were, including the evocative auction hall), the Experimental Centre for Habitat Protection is a very significant institution for environmental protection in the area of the Northern Adriatic sea.
Thanks to the many safeguard and dissemination activities, researchers and natural sciences specialists working at the centre recover and care for hundreds of turtles, cuttlefish, rays and other fishes every year, as well as lead projects aimed at sustainable fishing, in collaboration with other institutions and with local fishermen.
The centre is periodically open to visits and it is also possible to meet turtles and other animals in recovery as they wait to go back to their natural habitats.
MARINARA
Located in the heart of Marina di Ravenna, Marinara is one of the most modern and equipped tourist ports of the Adriatic sea.
More than a thousand berths, dedicated shops, bars and restaurants and apartments make up a sort of village in the village hosting, mainly in summer, various cultural and entertainment events.
MAS – NATIONAL MUSEUM OF UNDERWATER ACTIVITIES
Opened in 1998 by the Historical Diving Society, the noteworthy Museum of Underwater Activities, one-of-its-kind in Italy, was moved to a larger and brighter space in 2014.
Inside, you can discover the history of underwater activities through prints, panels, a dedicated library and an incredible collection of equipment, such as a bathysphere, a hyperbaric bell for seabed works, airtight cases for cameras manufactured between the ’40s and the ’50s and a series of military equipments.
CROSSING THE CANDIANO CANAL
You can cross the Candiano canal between Porto Corsini and Marina di Ravenna by boarding an evocative ferryboat, operating all year round, designed for the transport of both vehicles and pedestrians. The only other crossing point of the canal is at the bottom of the Darsena area, ten kilometres upcountry, through the drawbridge of via Attilio Monti.
