Ravenna guide – the wonderful city of mosaics

Just 100 km away from Bologna, Italy, there is a seaside town – Ravenna. This city literally should be included in all itineraries around Italy. Ravenna is famous for a lot of things – old architecture, chapels, Dante’s Tomb, and especially the mosaics of Ravenna. This list is not final, of course, there are still seaside, old town, etc. Here is my travel guide to Ravenna.

To start with, a day trip is enough to see what Ravenna is all about. It’s 2-hour train ride away from Bologna and the city center is just 10 minutes walking distance from the train station. You will be able to walk everywhere in Ravenna. But I want to start with my number one reason to love Ravenna – Dante’s Tomb.

Legacy of Dante Alighieri in Ravenna

Dante always fancied me. Though, I don’t feel ready to read his art about Hell, Purgatory, and Heaven, yet. But it’s coming. You need to reach a particular maturity level to understand his works.

I knew the history of Dante, his exile from Florence. I visited all of his statues in Florence, Verona, Padua. But never did I think that I’ll have a chance to visit his real tomb. It was a surprise for me when I started to research about Ravenna and this miracle happened.

Dante died in 1321 and was buried at Basilica di San Francesco. Later on, he was transferred to the newly built Tomb next to the church. Here you can visit him these days. You can read special words engraved on the tomb: “Florence, mother of little love”.

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The church, where Dante’s funeral was held and where he was buried, Basilica di San Francesco, is magnificent itself. Its history dates back to the 5th century. Since then, it was demolished, rebuilt, and renamed few times. Inside the church below the altar, you will find the crypt. It’s not a usual crypt where people bury priests and monks. Of course, there are tombs dating the early stages of the church. But Ravenna sits on relatively soft marshland. This has led to a number of structural issues and claims that the city is slowly sinking. This is certainly the case at the crypt which is now constantly full with a foot or so of standing water. The long-term fight with the flood was worthless, so the pool is now home to goldfish which swim among the columns and over the sunken mosaics. 

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Mosaics of Ravenna

There is no other city in Italy that you could find so much mosaic art than Ravenna. I went through a few of the main churches and monasteries that are famous for their mosaics. But you can find mosaics actually on every corner of the city.

For your comfort, you can buy a combined ticket with all “must-see” sites. The combined ticket costs 12.5 EUR and it includes entry to Basilica of Sant’Apollinare Nuovo, Neonian Baptistery, Basilica of San Vitale, Mausoleum of Galla Placidia and Archiepiscopal Museum and Chapel. The ticket is valid for 7 consecutive days.

Now, we need a small interruption for coffee and pastries here. I have combined visiting Dante’s Tomb and indulging in the best pastries of Ravenna. For this experience, I visited Pasticceria Ferrari Di Savigni Roberta. There is no need to praise Italian sweets additionally, they are the best. But I’d like to share some coziness of this super place. It is full of live piano music, a beautiful chandelier, and a very pleasant cashier. You can find more specialties of the Emilia-Romagna area in my post The journey of tastes through Italy.

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Basilica of Sant’Apollinare Nuovo

When I saw Basilica of Sant’Apollinare Nuovo, it was something out of this world. Moreover, I will give you a spoiler that, in fact, with every new church in Ravenna I had an even stronger impression of unbelievable wonders. Really, you have to see it to believe it…

Inside this Basilica, there are two side walls full of figurative mosaics dating from the 6th century. Since the church, reasonably, was reconstructed few times, these mosaics are from the original church. They represent the stylistic and ideological evolution of Byzantine wall mosaics. In fact, the 26 scenes on the walls are the most ancient original mosaic work on the New Testament of all times.

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Basilica of San Vitale

There are eight structures in Ravenna that belong to UNESCO World Heritage list. Therefore, it’s no secret that Basilica of San Vitale is one of them. There are no words to explain the feeling when you step into the Basilica of San Vitale for the first time. I will repeat myself, but you have to see it to believe it…

The Basilica of San Vitale is one of the most important monuments of Early Christian art in Italy, especially for its mosaics. This is the only church that has survived intact and almost unaltered to the present day. It was dedicated to the martyr Vitalis, the patron saint of Ravenna. At the time it was the capital of the Western Roman Empire.

From the exterior Basilica looks unusually shaped for the traditional Christian church. But remember that it dates back to the 6th century the Byzantine period. Its shape is octagonal and with a dome in the middle.

In addition to the magnificent architecture, the mosaics in San Vitale are the main attractions. They were influenced by similar work at the Constantinopole. In fact, these mosaics are considered the largest and best-preserved Byzantine mosaics outside modern-day Istanbul. The mosaics depict the Old and New Testament figures as well as contemporary Byzantine rulers and Catholic ecclesiastics. The photos will tell you more than a thousand words, so here is the gallery of Basilica’s mosaics.

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The Mausoleum of Galla Placidia

In the backyard of the Basilica of San Vitale, there is a small building – the “Mausoleo di Galla Placidia.” It is a must, when you are in the area, as it also features intricate mosaic work. If you were amazed by the mosaics in the Basilica, imagine that the art in the Mausoleum is even older by a century. And this makes them the oldest mosaics in Ravenna.

The Mausoleum is quite small. This requires that the admission process is well coordinated by limiting visitors. Generally, a number of visitors are allowed to remain in the building for around five minutes at a time.

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The Neonian Baptistery

And that’s not all with the mosaics in Ravenna. One more UNESCO Heritage site is Neonian Baptistery. The Neonian Baptistery is the oldest of the octagonal Christian structures in Ravenna. Furthermore, it’s one of the best-preserved examples of a baptistery from Late Antiquity. The Neonian Baptistery is also referred to as the Orthodox Baptistery.

The mosaics inside are no less amazing than in other visited Bysantian buildings. The dome mosaics show Christ’s baptism by St John the Baptist in the River Jordan, represented as a gray-bearded man. This scene is surrounded by a large inner ring with the Twelve Apostles. These Apostles carry crowns in veiled hands and walk slowly in procession.

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There’s more than the Neonian Baptistery in the area. There is also the Archbishop’s museum with a special chapel. The Archbishop’s Chapel is on the second floor of the former bishop’s palace. This palace is now the Archiepiscopal Museum. The chapel might get easily overlooked, as the museum has a number of other small rooms and narrow passages. The Archbishop’s Chapel is the smallest of the UNESCO World Cultural Heritage sites in Ravenna but absolutely worth seeing. Also, it is the oldest surviving private Christian oratory.

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Streets of Ravenna

The city of Ravenna is as beautiful as all other Italian cities. All those narrow, and wider, streets, all the tasty food in the windows make you feel the perfect Italian vibe. There are few great places to mention.

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Piazza del Popolo is the main square in Ravenna. It dates back to the 15th century and was built by an example of Saint Mark’s square in Venice. Just sit, relax and drink a cup of cappuccino or Aperol Spritz in one of the many cafes in the square.

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Ravenna is the place to taste some street food of Emilia-Romagna. Just around the corner from the main square, you will find two places to fill your tummy with Italian tastiness. Going along the street IV Novembre, almost at the Piazza Andrea Costa you will find Alice pizza and La Piadina del Melarancio. Those two places are for takeout and they share some tables outside. Finally, it’s a perfect mix of true Italian street food.

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Actually, Ravenna is more than mosaics, it’s one of the most important ports of Italy along with seaside white sand beaches. But as my trip lasted only one day, let’s leave the Italian beach life for next time.

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