44.790° N, 12.264° E
Complete guide
Lido di Volano: beach guide
What the beach is like
The Lido di Volano beach lies in the seaside resort of the same name, in the municipality of Comacchio, province of Ferrara, on the Adriatic Sea. Lido di Volano is the northernmost of the seven Lidi di Comacchio. The name comes from a branch of the old course of the Po: the Po di Volano, a former delta branch of the river that later became an irrigation and drainage canal for land reclamation. The village has few houses and its history begins in the fifteenth century.
The locality includes a beach and a large pine forest of 169 hectares, which is part of the state protected area of the Po di Volano nature reserve. The pine forest stretches southwards for 6 km and separates the village from the lago delle Nazioni and from the lido delle Nazioni. The beaches have a shore well suited to long walks and sunbathing, are sheltered by the pine forest and look towards the Delta del Po and the Sacca di Goro. The shore is sandy.
For Emilia Romagna Turismo, the state-owned pine forest is a natural oasis much appreciated by those looking for nature-based tourism. The area consists of recently formed sandy shores, reforested in the mid-'30s to protect the dunes from coastal erosion. Lido di Volano is the northernmost lido south of the Delta del Po still surrounded by natural areas less exploited by tourism, and therefore suited to birdwatching and fishing.
Getting there
The village of Lido di Volano is 1 km north of the beach as the crow flies. According to Wikivoyage, Comacchio and its lidos can be reached from Ferrara by the TPER scheduled buses. By car, the Raccordo Autostradale 8 links Comacchio with Ferrara and with the A13. The roads into Comacchio also include the strada statale 309 Romea. The resort has a modern marina near the bridge over the Volano.
When to go
In its page updated in May 2026, Emilia Romagna Turismo states that the mobile tourist information office (IAT) in Lido di Volano is open from April to mid-September. In 2026 Lido di Volano appears among the Bandiera Blu (Blue Flag) localities of the municipality of Comacchio, together with the other lidos, in the FEE list.
Seabed and sea
The beach faces southeast, onto the Adriatic Sea. With the easterly levante, the southeasterly scirocco and the southerly ostro, the wind blows in from the sea, so the beach is exposed to waves and rough water. With the tramontana, ponente and maestrale the wind blows from the land, and close to shore the sea tends to be calmer. The grecale and the libeccio, on the other hand, blow across the beach. These are indications based on the orientation of the coast, not weather forecasts.
Emilia Romagna Turismo describes Lido di Volano as a somewhat isolated resort but exposed to wind and sea currents, and for this reason a reference centre for kitesurfing and windsurfing. For this beach, QualeSpiaggia data do not include an EEA bathing water quality classification. Before swimming, it is worth checking sea conditions and the flags on display locally.
Facilities and free beach
Over the years tourism has become a significant economic activity, with several accommodation and catering businesses. Wikivoyage lists many places to eat in the Lidi di Comacchio, especially during the bathing season. Among the pharmacies of the lidos it mentions a branch at via dei Cervi 27/29 in Lido di Volano.
Rules and protected areas
The Po di Volano nature reserve is a state protected area established by the ministerial decree of 13 July 1977. The Parco del Delta del Po, with its alternation of woods and lagoons, lies a few kilometres away. In the pine forest and among the dunes, it is best to keep to the paths and take your rubbish away with you.
Nearby
On foot or by bike, starting from the small harbour, you can head into the Scannone di Volano, a strip of land a couple of kilometres long covered with maritime pines and holm oak shrubs. The Scannone offers a view over the coast. The circular walk around the Scannone can also be started on foot from the beach, returning to the small harbour. The walk is recommended in the spring and autumn months.
A nature area, the Oasi di Cannevié, lies close to the village of Volano, between the Bosco della Mesola, the Po di Volano and the sandbanks of the river mouth. It dates back to the seventeenth century as a fishing station, as many buildings of architectural interest still show today. It is fitted out with a nature trail and, via small bridges, you can walk to screens for watching the birdlife. The Canneviè and Porticino valli (brackish lagoons) are rich in small brackish ponds with mounds and islets, remnants of the reclamation of the former valle Giralda. Their average depth is 60 cm. The palazzina of Canneviè, dating from 1700, was the manor house of the head of fishing and has been converted for catering and conferences. In the valle Bertuzzi, made up of the Nuova, Bertuzzi and Cantone valli, part of the biodiversity survives and black-winged stilts are not a rare sight. The former torre della Finanza was, until the sixties, a kind of customs post for traffic to Istria.
Valle Gaffaro, 5.3 km to the northwest as the crow flies, has an airstrip suitable for light and ultralight hang-glider flights. The grass runway is 900 metres long and 45 wide, has a sandy surface and is equipped with hangars and emergency facilities. From here you can take flights over the Parco del Delta del Po as far as Ferrara, Ravenna or Venice.
Along the coast, the Lido del Cormorano is 1.5 km to the northeast as the crow flies, the Borgo Manara beach 3 km to the south and Lido delle Nazioni 5.6 km to the south. The Sacca di Goro opens 4.9 km to the northeast as the crow flies. Comacchio is 12.3 km to the southwest as the crow flies. Emilia Romagna Turismo calls it the capital of the Parco del Delta, with its dense network of bridges and canals. Among the town's monuments are the Trepponti, made up of five wide flights of steps, and the cathedral dedicated to San Cassiano. In the municipality of Codigoro, the Abbazia di Pomposa dates back to the ninth century and its church of Santa Maria holds fourteenth-century frescoes by Vitale da Bologna.