Pinewoods of Ravenna: Attraction informations
The pinewoods of Ravenna are maybe one of the most famous forests in Italy. It is a protected area inside the Regional Park of the Po Delta.
Roman origins
The presence of the pinewoods in this territory takes us back to
Emperor Augustus, who chose this area of the Adriatic coast for a huge port that would serve for the
production and provision of his naval fleet. The name of the nearby
Classe actually recalls the latin term
classis (fleet) and acts as witness to this ancient heritage.
The port quickly grew and with it the population of the area increased as well. It was necessary therefore to create an endless supply of raw materials for the
ship’s construction.
This is the reason for the first tree seed, which can nowadays be seen along the coastline.
The history of the pinewood of Ravenna
The most diffused tree in the pinewood of Ravenna is the
common pine, conserved throughout the years thanks to the efforts of the Camaldolesi monks. The
order of Camaldolesi took possession of these area during the Middle Ages and since then protected the forest.
During those days four different pinewoods coexisted and were taken care of by the monks, reaching an extension of about 7000 hectares distributed along 30 km of coastline. The names of these 4 different pinewoods were
Pineta di San Vitale, Pineta di Classe, Pineta di San Giovanni and Pineta di Cervia.
A difficult period for both the forests and the Order started with the arrival of the
French Troops at the end of the 18th century. The order was suppressed, like many other, and all its belongings were confiscated and distributed to private citizens, with the objective of diminishing the extension of the pinewoods.
At the end of the 19th century, due to several deep frosts, some private owners unfortunately decided to use the pinewoods and most of the trees as their personal wood storage, causing the destruction of most of the pinewood. Another hard time arrived at the beginning of World War I, when wood was still highly requested and needed.
Nowadays, due to the increase in population along the coast, the
extension of the pinewoods is of about 2000 hectares.
Many scholars of the poet
Dante Alighieri have identified the pinewood with the “
forest” that inspired the poet in the initial part of
The Divine Comedy. It was in Ravenna where the poet found shelter after being exiled from Florence.
The Da Polenta family, who was then in control of the city, embraced Dante and his court and housed them until the poet’s death. The remains of Dante rest inside a
Mausoleum that can be visited in the city centre and next to the
Church of Saint Francis.
