Veneto · Rovigo
Rosolina
A reclaimed commune where a nine-kilometer beach and a maritime pine forest sit between the Adige mouth and the Adriatic.
Picked by Peter Benei
Letter to come
Why Rosolina is on our list
It holds Bandiera Blu.
The nearest town with a letter is Chioggia, No. 92, 34 min by car.
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Visiting
- Best time
- May–Sep
- By car
- 1 h 19 min from Venice
- By train
- Station in the comune
- Population
- 6,171
- J8°
- F11°
- M14°
- A17°
- M21°
- J27°
- J29°
- A29°
- S25°
- O20°
- N14°
- D10°
- Best
- Hot or crowded
- Quiet
- Mostly closed
Daytime air temperature, averages for 2020–2024. The sea is warmest in August at 28° and coldest in February at 9°. Weather data by Open-Meteo.com.
Going to the sea? How to find the free beaches in Italy.
Why come
Rosolina sits at three meters above sea level, forty kilometers south of Venice, between the Adige to the north and the Po di Levante to the south, at the northern edge of the Po Delta. The commune is recent: it was drained and made habitable through twentieth-century land reclamation that built channels, raised banks and pulled the land out of the lagoon. The territory divides into three distinct parts.
The frazione of Rosolina Mare holds the mainland coast, backed by the replanted pine forest. The Isola di Albarella sits offshore as a private, gated development, separate in ownership and access from the rest of the commune. Inland, the reclaimed land carries the traces of the drainage works themselves, documented at the Ca' Vendramin pump station near the commune border. The land here is not old ground reshaped but new ground made, and the three parts of the commune, the resort island, the public beach and the drained interior, are three different answers to the same reclamation.
How to get there
From Bologna (BLQ), about 1 h 41 min by car.
Treviso (TSF) is about 1 h 43 min away.
By car from the center of Padua 1 h 22 min.
There is a railway station in the comune, so you can arrive without a car.
Coming from Venice, Bologna or Verona?
Coming by train into Ferrara? Rosolina is about 1 h 16 min away by road.
Every town within reach of Bologna airport.
First time driving in Italy? Read our complete manual.
What to see
Rosolina Mare
The beach carries the Bandiera Blu, earned through repeated cycles. The pines behind it have matured into dense woodland since the original planting.
Parco regionale veneto del Delta del Po
Regional park covering nine communes from the Adige to the Po di Goro, with lagoons, valleys and bird colonies.
Giardino Botanico Litoraneo
Coastal botanical garden on the dune system, classified as a Site of European Significance for its dune and lagoon flora.
Isola di Albarella
Bought in the 1960s and developed as a closed resort, the island keeps a single gated entry road, its pine woods and golf course reserved for residents and guests.
Museo della Bonifica Ca' Vendramin
Twentieth-century drainage pump station converted to a museum of the reclamation, near the commune border. Classified, like the botanical garden, as a Site of European Significance.
Living here
Could you live here?
Rosolina meets all 3 of our rules for a small town.
- 6,171 people, inside our sweet spot of 5,000 to 20,000: a real town, still one community.
- Rovigo, a city of 49,922, is 47 min by car. Inside our 30 to 60 minutes: close for the services, far enough to keep its own life.
- A station of its own. Trains are the overlooked way to get around Italy: no parking, straight into the center.
The rules come from our series Where to Move in Italy, written from the places we have lived: Part 1, The End of the Road · Part 2, The Small Town · Part 3, The City · Part 4, The Postcard · Part 5, The Other Half. The towns we would pick are in Part 6, The Best Towns.
- Population 6,171, down 4.5% since 2015
- Nearest city Rovigo, 47 min drive
- Train station in the comune
- Nearest national health service hospital Porto Viro, 8 km as the crow flies · how healthcare works in Italy
- Homes in the center: €800 to €1,150 per m² to buy, €2.80 to €3.70 per m² a month to rent
Weighing a move here? See the moving year.
All the numbers Common questions, designations, lists and sources.
More about living here
- Remote
- Pharmacy in town
- Nearest high school over ~30 minutes away
- Full fibre reaches 96% of homes
- Primary school in the comune
- Earthquake zone 3, low hazard
- Venice Marco Polo airport (VCE), 1 h 14 min drive, the nearest with scheduled flights
- Regional capital Venice, 1 h 19 min drive
If you are moving here
Who lives here
7% of residents are foreign citizens, most often from Morocco, Romania and Russia, against 9% across Italy. 19 of them come from English-speaking countries or western and northern Europe, mostly Germany. There are 309 people over 65 for every 100 children under 15, against 216 across Italy. 70% of homes have no resident, holiday homes and empty ones counted together, against 27% across Italy. Rovigo province ranks 63rd of 107 in Il Sole 24 Ore's quality of life ranking for 2025.
Health and schools
The nearest emergency room is in Porto Viro, 8 km as the crow flies. The nearest major one is in Venice, 44 km away. The nearest children's emergency room is in Padua, 46 km away. The nearest IB school is The English International School of Padua, 44 km as the crow flies.
Information, not medical advice. Confirm with a professional.
Taxes
A home that is not your main one pays 1.06% a year in property tax at the 2025 rate, charged on the cadastral value rather than the price. A main home pays none unless it is in a luxury category. The town adds 0.5% to your income tax. 7% pensioner tax: this town is not in a qualifying area.
Information, not tax advice. Confirm with a professional.
What it costs
The average household in Veneto spends about €2,310 a month, €560 of it on food, against about €2,170 across Italy. A family of three pays about €490 a year for water, on the Veneto average. In Rovigo, the provincial capital, in September 2026, an espresso cost €1.38, a meal in a pizzeria €11.10 and a man's haircut €22.23.
Climate and risk
It is in climate zone E, on a scale from A, the warmest, to F, the coldest, and heating may run from October 15 to April 15, up to 14 hours a day, unless the mayor changes it. Under 1% of residents live in a zone the national maps rate high for floods, under 1% in a high or medium one. They show no residents in a high landslide zone.
These shares cover the whole comune, not any one street. Check an address on IdroGEO.
Moving from abroad? Which visa you need. Sources: ISTAT, the Ministry of Health, ISPRA, the Finance Ministry, the Ministry of Enterprise, Poste Italiane, the comuni, the IB, International Schools Database, Il Sole 24 Ore, Cittadinanzattiva.
Known for
ROSOLINA MARE
Nine-kilometer beach between the Adige and the Po di Levante, with a maritime pine forest replanted as a windbreak in the 1950s.
PO DELTA
Northern edge of the delta park, with lagoons, sandbanks and the dune-and-pine landscape that defines the upper coast.
ALBARELLA
Private island resort five kilometers long, gated, with pine woods, golf course and beach for residents and guests only.
Common questions
- What is Rosolina known for?
- Rosolina is a reclaimed commune where a nine-kilometer beach and a maritime pine forest sit between the Adige mouth and the Adriatic.
- Where is Rosolina?
- Rosolina is a comune in the province of Rovigo, in Veneto, at 3 meters above sea level.
- What is the nearest airport to Rosolina?
- The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Venice Marco Polo (VCE), about 1 h 14 min by car.
- Can you get to Rosolina without a car?
- Yes. There is a railway station in the comune, so you can arrive by train.
- How long is the drive from Padua to Rosolina?
- About 1 h 22 min by car.
- When is the best time to visit Rosolina?
- Best in May–Sep. July is the warmest month, averaging 29 degrees, and May the wettest, with about 12 rain days.
- Which other towns are like Rosolina?
- Fossacesia, Rodi Garganico and Mattinata.
- How many people live in Rosolina?
- 6,171 residents, by ISTAT's count on 1 January 2025.
- Is Rosolina a good place to live?
- By the rules in our Where to Move in Italy series, Rosolina is a small town that meets all 3 of our rules. The nearest city, Rovigo, is 47 min away by car. The nearest national health service hospital is in Porto Viro, 8 km as the crow flies. Full fibre reaches 96% of homes.
Tags & data designations · numbers · sources
Recognized as
Landscape
The numbers
- Elevation: 3 m
- Population: 6,171
- Surface area: 74.69 km²
These figures were compiled from public directories: ISTAT, OpenStreetMap and Wikidata, and from the official listings of the guides named on this page. Town details change; verify with official sources before you travel.
The ranked lists
Lists Rosolina appears in
- The 6 best hidden towns you can reach by train in VenetoVenetoby trainhidden6 towns · smallest 3,897 residents
- The best coastal towns within two hours of PaduaNear Paduacoastalwithin 2 hours6 towns · smallest 1,674 residents · closest 49 min away
- The best coastal towns within two hours of VeniceNear Venicecoastalwithin 2 hours6 towns · smallest 1,674 residents · closest 46 min away
- The best towns inside a nature park in VenetoVenetoinside a park7 towns · smallest 1,779 residents
- The best coastal towns within two hours of BolognaNear Bolognacoastalwithin 2 hours10 towns · smallest 4,856 residents · closest 62 min away
- The best towns known for what they grow within 90 minutes of VeniceNear Venicewithin 90 minproduce zone10 towns · smallest 2,478 residents · closest 39 min away
Near here, with a letter
Similar
Towns like Rosolina
What all six share with Rosolina: on the Adriatic coast · between 3,000 and 10,000 people
Fossacesia
Province: Chieti
both near sea level · both have a railway station in the comune
Rodi Garganico
Province: Foggia
both near sea level · both have a railway station in the comune
Mattinata
Province: Foggia
both near sea level
Petacciato
Province: Campobasso
both have a railway station in the comune
Grado
Province: Gorizia
both near sea level
Montenero di Bisaccia
Province: Campobasso
The letter
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Chioggia | Everyone is wrong about this town
It’s not an alternative to Venice
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