This ancient alleys and sumptuous palazzi of this magic city are steeped in the history and splendour of the Nobles Estensi and the Renaissance. Ferrara has been declared World Heritage by UNESCO for the protection of its unique monuments and architecture

Ferrara began its municipal and cultural development towards the end of the 14th Century, when it was further graced by the addition of today Duomo (the Cathedral), constructed in Romanic-Gothic style between the 12th and 14th Centuries holding numerous frescoes, paintings and sculpture by Garofano, Guercino, and Bastianino (16th Century) together with numerous other monastic centers.
Ferrara can be neatly divided into two distinct architectural styles: the Medieval area that runs from the Castle along Via della Giovecca, Via delle Volte and Porta d’Amore, and the Renaissance area that includes Street Ercole I d’Este (know as "degli Angeli" long ago) that leads to the ring that closed the daunting, splendid walls in ancient times.
The city symbols are the Castello Estense (Este Castle), begun in 1385 as a fort and completed in the 16th Century astride the two areas above, an architectural treasure with its Medieval Tower of Lions, subterranean dungeons, gothic chambers on the ground floor, and spacious halls with frescoes by Bastianino, Girolamo da Carpi and the Filippi father and sons (16th Cent. Game Room); Palazzo dei Diamanti presents an interrupted geometric facade of stone worked to diamond shape.
Ferrara can be explored by simply strolling through its streets, the actual annals of Renaissance time and culture, that amply suggest the city glorious past even today.
History stands on every corner, in its sumptuous palaces and winding Medieval alleys, and comes alive once again in the colours and music of the annual pageant of Palio di San Giorgio.
A truly special atmosphere reigns in the city center, where the rhythm of life is cadenced by the passing of hundreds of bicycles amidst the shores and coffee shops

Comacchio is a suggestive lagoon town that dates back to Late Roman times built on 13 islands in the middle of an extensive wetlands. The present-day urban center is rich in testimony from the past: handsome churches and monuments suspended between bridges over the canals, the most impressive of which is the 17th Century Trepponti, the ancient  main entrance  to the city.

Another sight that simply must not be missed is the Museo del Carico della Nave Romana (Roman Galley Cargo Museum) that holds the relics found aboard a merchant ship that sailed these waters in the 1st century BC.

"Trepponti" is the city monumental bridge and gateway constructed at the order of Cardinal Pallotta in the first half of the 17th Century and designed by Architect Luca Danese.
Trepponti bridge is composed of five-arched staircases that descend from a central staircase that leads into the square where the fish market is held every morning inside the picturesque building also built in the 1600s.
Typical lagoon boats known as "batane" that take on passengers for even more suggestive views of the city are moored along the canals.

A few kilometers away from the city stands the Valli di Comacchio, 11,000 ha of salt marshland brinked by raised embankments that provide home to the lagoon characteristic fauna and flora. Two particularly suggestive points are the peninsula of Boscoforte and the le Saline salt-flats where a healthy population of flamingos can be admired in the right season.

The Po Delta Regional Park is the district largest regional park and occupies a considerable part of the Emilia Romagna territory. The Park is divided into six different zones, each with its own attractions of wildlife, landscape, history and culture.
Visitors can explore the Park extraordinary beauty along various itineraries laid out for automobile, bicycle, and foot.

Very beautiful boat excursions can be made by ferry boat, for example to the Gorino Lighthouse, where lunch can be eaten in a characteristic little restaurant. From here, the next "attraction" is nearby Goro, one of the leading areas in the entire Adriatic Sea for the breeding of molluscs and oysters.
Excursions in the Po Delta Regional Park permit the admiration of an infinitely variegated flora and fauna in all the Park variously different ecosystems. Marine lavender, the "crucifers" flower,  cane thicket, the extremely rare white water-lily and the aquatic gentian, are just a few of the numerous species of plant that grow in this marvellous area.
The mainland is home to several bird species such as the aquatic blackbird, and the avocet, which make their nests amidst the high vegetation while the cane thicket is the nesting place of preference for the kingfisher.

Thanks to strategic location, Ravenna, a small city with a naval base on the Adriatic coast defended against attack from land by its lagoon, became the capital of the Western Roman Empire and for this reason lived a period of extraordinary artistic flourishing together with the birth of Christian iconography in the 5th Century and its courtly art made it direct descendent of Rome. Its artistic splendour attracted many nobles, and above all, many different cultures that made her a monumental city of international fame now protected as a World Heritage.
Many religious buildings hold excellent works of Oriental beauty and mystique (exquisite mosaic work in golf leaf and lapislazuli …), the most famous being the Basilica Ursiana with its five naves erected beneath the Vescovo Orso Bishopric, the Basilica of St. John the Evangelist (425), the Church of Santa Croce and the Mausoleum of Galla Placida.
One of the most striking expressions of renewed Imperial Byzantine grace and grandeur is the Basilica di S. Vitale, with its precious marbles, mosaic-work depicting the Emperor Justinian  and Empress Theodora, classically elegant capitals etc. Ravenna reached her maximum splendour in the period following the re-conquest of Italy by Justinian, Emperor of the East.
S. Apollinare in Classe, consecrated in 549, offers the fortunate visitor a glittering, gem-studded cross set above in the starry sky of the apse, and the brilliant mosaic-work composing the Transfiguration of Christ on Monte Tabor that gives the astonishing effect of embroidered fabric and carpet.

Venice and its mainland are particularly rich of museums and historical buildings of great artistic and cultural importance.

The Basilica :
The first patron saint of Venice was St.Teodoro. In 828 St.Mark the Evangelist substituted him when two merchants smuggled his mortal remains back from Alessandria (Egypt). St.Mark's remains were initially buried in a chapel in the Doge's Palace but later a church was built that was to be his perpetual resting place. The church later suffered damage from fire and was modified many times to adapt to Venice's evolution of power and wealth .
St.Mark's Basilica is also well known for the Pala d'Oro, one of the richest and most precious altar screens in the world. It is covered with more than 3000 precious stones and enamel ikons inlaid in gold..

The Palazzo Ducale (Doge's Palace);
got its present form after radical changing during the 14th and 16th century. It was the Doge's residence and at the same time seat of many different political and social institutions. The first floor was occupied by minor institutions, such as the Avogaria or lawyers offices, where law cases were examined; the Chancellery.
The Grand Council chamber, the largest room of the palace, the Ballot chamber.
The Sala del Collegio, where foreign ambassadors were received, and rooms used by the state security service like the Council of Ten are located on the third floor. The State Inquisitor Room was used to interrogate prisoners.
The Carnival :
When Carnival first began it was celebrated from December 26 and reached its climax the day before Ash Wednesday, also known as "Mardi Gras".
Since 1980 the celebration of Carnival in Venice has gained popularity.

The clock tower:
The clock shows the hours in Roman numerals, the phases of the moon and the Zodiac. The Serenissima gave a large reward to the Ranieri brothers who constructed the clock tower, but legend has it that later their eyes were removed in order to keep them from repeating such a wonder.