Discover Ravenna, known worldwide as the capital of mosaics!

This delightful city on the Adriatic coast preserves an exceptional artistic heritage, thanks to a past that saw it as a protagonist of crucial historical events. Between the 5th and 8th centuries, Ravenna was the capital of the Western Roman Empire, then of the Ostrogothic Kingdom, and finally of the Byzantine Exarchate; traces of this past can be found in the splendid Early Christian buildings and in its eight UNESCO monuments.

But Ravenna is also the city that Dante Alighieri, the supreme poet considered the father of the Italian language, chose as his final refuge and which still preserves his immortal remains today.

The itinerary could be developed entirely in the historic center or with a short trip outside the city.

Our journey through history begins with the Roman era (5th century), with a visit to the Neonian Baptistery, the oldest baptistery in the city, still active and decorated with splendid mosaics representing the baptism of Christ and the procession of the Apostles, and the Mausoleum of Galla Placidia. The Roman empress, a deeply religious woman, wanted to build this place to hold the remains of herself and her family, and had it decorated with mosaics representing biblical passages, stories of saints, and Christian iconography, but also refined ornamental motifs that recall the Eastern culture and nature; the famous starry sky vault, then, enchants with its golden reflections.

We then admire the splendors of the Byzantine era (6th century), with the majestic Basilica of San Vitale, unique for its octagonal shape and famous for the variety of its marbles and the  mosaics representing Emperor Justinian and his wife Theodora.

We then retrace the places dear to the King of the Ostrogoths, Theodoric (5th-6th century), starting from the Basilica of Sant’Apollinare Nuovo, a palatine basilica decorated with mosaics that narrate not only the stories of Christ but also the significant places of Ravenna at the time. Time allowing, we continue with the Arian Baptistery, built by the great king for the Ostrogothic community.

We then pay homage to the supreme poet by visiting the Dante area, with the Basilica of San Francesco and its suggestive flooded crypt and the eighteenth-century Tomb of Dante Alighieri.

We continue by enjoying a coffee or an ice cream in Piazza del Popolo, the “living room of the people of Ravenna,” the beautiful town hall square with clear Venetian influences, and by passing through one of the city’s numerous mosaic workshops.

If you wish to stay in the center, the itinerary can be enriched with a visit to the Archiepiscopal Museum, which houses the precious Chapel of Sant’Andrea, and/or the Domus dei Tappeti di Pietra (House of the Stone Carpets), a splendid example of a Byzantine residence with its mosaic floors.

If you want to travel outside the center, as an alternative you can visit (reachable by coach, car, or bus):

• The Mausoleum of Theodoric, an emblematic monument in white Istrian stone immersed in the greenery of a beautiful urban park (a visit from the outside is recommended).
• The Basilica of Sant’Apollinare in Classe, the only one of the ancient port city to have reached us, inside which the apse stands out, richly decorated with an idyllic garden, a splendid golden and gemmed cross, and the figure of the Saint to whom the sacred place is dedicated.

The visiting order of the monuments is not the one listed above and is adjusted according to the needs of visitors. We do not assume responsibility for ticket increases or changes of monuments opening hours that may occur during the year.