Ravenna was the capital of the Western Roman Empire (402-476), the Ostrogothic Kingdom (493-540), and the Byzantine Exarchate (540-751). During those 350 years, its rulers covered every church wall and ceiling with gold-ground mosaics of such extraordinary quality that Ravenna contains the single most important collection of Byzantine mosaic art outside Istanbul. UNESCO inscribed 8 Early Christian monuments in 1996. The mosaics of San Vitale (Emperor Justinian and Empress Theodora staring at you across 1,500 years with their enormous eyes) and the tiny Mausoleum of Galla Placidia (the midnight-blue ceiling with 570 gold stars — the most intimate, most beautiful small space in Italy) will change how you see art. Oh, and Dante is buried here. Not Florence — Ravenna. He died in exile here in 1321, and Ravenna has kept his bones ever since (despite Florence's 700-year campaign to get them back).
Discover Ravenna →1. Basilica di San Vitale (526-547): The crown jewel. An octagonal church with mosaics that represent the peak of Byzantine art in the West. The apse: Emperor Justinian I (with his court, soldiers, Bishop Maximian) on the left wall, Empress Theodora (with her ladies-in-waiting, jewels dripping) on the right. Their eyes are immense, hieratic, eternal. The green and gold mosaics above depict Old Testament scenes with a vibrancy that seems impossible for 1,500-year-old art. Allow 45min here. 2. Mausoleo di Galla Placidia (430s): A tiny cross-shaped building — you step inside and the world disappears. The ceiling is midnight blue with 570 gold stars radiating from a gold cross. The lunettes show the Good Shepherd, deer drinking from pools, St. Lawrence with his gridiron. The most beautiful small interior in all of Italy. 15min max (timed entry — the humidity from visitors' breath damages the mosaics). 3. Battistero Neoniano (458): The oldest monument in Ravenna — the dome mosaic shows Christ's baptism surrounded by the 12 Apostles processing in a circle. The stucco work below is original. 4. Battistero degli Ariani (500): The Arian (Gothic-Christian) baptistery — simpler but powerful dome mosaic, similar composition. 5. Sant'Apollinare Nuovo (505-565): Two processional friezes running the entire length of the nave — 26 martyrs on one side, 22 virgins on the other, walking toward Christ and the Virgin. The gold backgrounds glow. 6. Cappella Arcivescovile (500): The only Orthodox chapel to survive from the Ostrogothic period — tiny, rare, important. 7. Mausoleo di Teodorico (520): The Ostrogothic king's tomb — a massive stone rotunda with a single 300-ton Istrian stone monolith as the roof (how they placed it remains an engineering mystery). 8. Sant'Apollinare in Classe (549): 5km outside Ravenna — the apse mosaic (St. Apollinaris praying in a green paradise with sheep) is one of the most serene images in early Christian art.
Tomba di Dante (Via Dante Alighieri): A small neoclassical temple containing Dante's sarcophagus. He died in Ravenna on September 14, 1321, having spent his final years in exile here after being banished from Florence. Florence has demanded the bones back repeatedly since 1396 — Ravenna has refused every time. In WWII, the Franciscan friars hid the bones in a garden to protect them from bombing. Free. Next door: the Museo Dantesco and the Quadrarco di Braccioforte (where the bones were hidden). Every year, Florence sends olive oil to keep the lamp lit at Dante's tomb — a gesture of penitence for exiling their greatest citizen.
Combined ticket: €12.50 for the 5 main sites (San Vitale, Galla Placidia, Sant'Apollinare Nuovo, Battistero Neoniano, Cappella Arcivescovile). Valid 7 days. Galla Placidia supplement: €2 extra in peak season (March-June). Hours: 9am-7pm (summer), 9:30am-5pm (winter). How long: Half-day minimum (3-4h for the main 5 + Dante's tomb). Full day to include Sant'Apollinare in Classe + Teodorico's Mausoleum. Getting there: Trains from Bologna (1h-1h20, €7-12), Florence (2h, €15-25), Venice (3h). Where to stay: Centro storico — €50-100/night (Ravenna is very affordable). By bike: Ravenna is perfectly flat — rent a bike (€8/day) and cycle between sites. Combine with: Bologna (1h), Modena (1.5h), Rimini + San Marino (1h south), Ferrara (1h north). The Emilia-Romagna art/food circuit is unbeatable. UNESCO → · Itinerary →