44.338° N, 12.334° E
Complete guide
Lido di Classe beach: beach guide
What the beach is like
The free beach of Lido di Classe runs for 4 km north of the built-up area, as far as the mouth of the Bevano stream. Lido di Classe is a seaside resort on the Riviera Romagnola and a frazione (hamlet) of the municipality of Ravenna. The beach faces the Adriatic Sea, in the province of Ravenna, in Emilia-Romagna. The village of Lido di Classe lies 1.3 km in a straight line south of the beach's reference point.
The official tourism website of the Emilia-Romagna Region describes it as a golden strip of soft sand, bordered by 5 km of pine forest, and recommends it to anyone looking for a beach free of infrastructure. Part of it falls within the Duna costiera ravennate e foce torrente Bevano nature reserve, for the dune area behind it and for the zone close to the river mouth.
In a press release from the Municipality of Ravenna, the mayor describes the coastal strip between Lido di Dante and Lido di Classe as one of the few remaining examples of Adriatic coast still in a natural state. In this strip the natural sequence can still be recognised: shoreline, beach, active dunes, consolidated dunes and back-dune hollows. Behind the dunes lie the state-owned Ramazzotti and Savio pine forests, dating from 1881 and planted to protect crops from sea winds.
Getting there
The hamlet is served by the Lido di Classe-Lido di Savio railway station, on the Ferrara-Ravenna-Rimini line. Regular bus services connect it to the surrounding towns. By car, the main roads nearby are the Strada statale Adriatica and the A14 motorway, with the Ravenna exit.
In a straight line, Ravenna is 13.7 km north-west of the beach and Cervia 8.6 km south. The Pineta di Classe lies between the localities of Classe, Fosso Ghiaia and Savio. The pine forest can also be reached from Via della Sacca, the road leading to the mouth of the Bevano. By bike, the pine forest can be reached from Ravenna on the route behind the Basilica of Sant'Apollinare in Classe, which first runs alongside the Ravenna/Rimini railway line.
When to go
According to QualeSpiaggia data, the beach faces east. With the grecale, levante and scirocco winds, the wind comes off the sea and the beach is exposed to waves and rough water. With the libeccio, ponente and maestrale (mistral), the wind blows from land and the beach is sheltered, with calmer water close to shore. The tramontana and ostro arrive from the side instead. This is an indication based on the orientation of the coast, not a forecast.
In the 2025 season the European Environment Agency (EEA) rated the bathing water quality of this stretch as excellent. The «Festival Naturae» has been held in July and August since 2008, with nature excursions and shows.
Seabed and sea
In front of the beach at the mouth of the Bevano, up to 300 metres from the shoreline, lies a stretch of shallow sea ecologically connected to the mainland. The Natura 2000 site IT4070009, which includes the mouth of the Bevano, also covers the coastal marine strip for a width of about 300 metres. The proposed marine area would have mainly silty or sandy seabeds, with an adjoining sandy coast.
The habitats of Community interest listed include sandbanks, estuaries, coastal lagoons, embryonic and white shifting dunes and dunes with junipers. The fauna mentioned includes seahorses, Caretta turtles, dolphins and birds such as the Kentish plover. The mouth of the Bevano covers about 40 hectares and, according to the Parco del Delta del Po, it is the last meandering estuary of the Northern Adriatic free to evolve naturally. A recent nature-based engineering work has partly redirected its outlet to the sea, to protect the dunes.
Facilities and free beach
According to Wikipedia, the beach establishments, which numbered fewer than ten in the sixties, now extensively cover the shore. There are also free beaches, including a small stretch where dogs are allowed.
Almost all the establishments have courts for beach tennis, beach volleyball, basketball and beach soccer. Sailing, kitesurfing, horse riding and mountain biking are also possible, and there is a school for ultralight aircraft pilots. The village has an open-air cinema, two amusement arcades and a sports centre with tennis and five-a-side football pitches and mini golf.
The Bevano mouth site, on the other hand, is according to the Parco del Delta del Po one of the few completely free of beach establishments and with regulated access. On the stretches without establishments it is worth bringing water and some shade.
Rules and protected areas
The Natura 2000 site Ortazzo, Ortazzino and Bevano mouth is managed by the Ente di gestione per i Parchi e la Biodiversità Delta del Po and the Reparto Carabinieri per la Biodiversità. The site includes the «Ortazzo e Ortazzino» Protection Oasis of 800 hectares, a State nature reserve of 172 hectares on the dune and the mouth of the Bevano, and a Ramsar wetland of 430 hectares. It lies almost entirely within the Po Delta regional park, Pineta di Classe e Saline di Cervia station. The area at the river mouth is also a Site of Community Importance and a Special Protection Area of the Natura 2000 network.
On 1 August 2026 the Municipality of Ravenna and the Parco del Delta del Po put forward the idea of establishing a marine protected area at the mouth of the Bevano. The project covers about 4685 hectares, of which 575 on land and 4110 at sea, up to 3 nautical miles from the coast. In August 2026 it was still a proposal: the legislative process with the Ministry of the Environment had yet to begin. In protected areas it is best to stay on marked paths and not disturb wildlife.
With children
The regional tourism website presents Lido di Classe as ideal for family holidays. The village has a playground for children. The resort's tourist growth was also helped by the proximity of the Mirabilandia amusement park.
Nearby
Lido di Dante lies 3.2 km in a straight line north of the beach. Lido di Dante has very few beach establishments and the rest is all free beach. Beyond the first beach establishments of Lido di Dante lies the Bassona nature reserve, an area frequented by naturists for decades, a practice now recognised by the Municipality of Ravenna. From Lido di Dante a walk of almost 9 km reaches Ravenna along the embankments of the Fiumi Uniti.
The Pineta di Classe, covering 900 hectares and owned by the Municipality of Ravenna, is freely accessible and part of the Parco del Delta del Po. It can be explored on foot, by bike or on horseback, with marked trails starting from the Parco I° Maggio in Fosso Ghiaia. According to the Municipality's page updated in 2026, entry is free and in summer, from the second Sunday in May to the second Sunday in October, opening hours are 7.30–19.00. From the Bevanella visitor centre, an access station of the Po Delta Park, guided excursions on foot, by bike, by boat and by canoe head to the mouth of the Bevano and the Ortazzo and Ortazzino oases.
Milano Marittima lies 6.8 km in a straight line south of the beach. In Ravenna, the complex of early Christian monuments has been on the UNESCO World Heritage List since 1996.
Sources
- Wikipedia (it) — Lido di Classe
- Wikipedia (it) — Ravenna
- Lido di Classe | Emilia Romagna Turismo
- Sito di Interesse Comunitario e Zona di Protezione Speciale Ortazzo, Ortazzino, Foce del Torrente Bevano | Parco del Delta del Po
- Lido di Dante | Emilia Romagna Turismo
- Pineta di Classe - Comune di Ravenna
- Ravenna candida l’area di Foce Bevano ad area marina protetta - Comune di Ravenna
- EEA — Bathing water quality 2025 (IT008039014008)
- OpenStreetMap
- QualeSpiaggia — open data spiagge (CC BY 4.0)