Ravenna is an incredible city that guards treasures of ancient art, little known and overshadowed by Italy’s more famous art cities. Almost no one knows it, but Ravenna was a capital three times, of three different political entities: the Western Roman Empire, the kingdom of Theodoric, king of the Ostrogoths, and the Byzantine exarchate in Italy.
Thanks to its strategic position, Ravenna became a thriving hub of religious and cultural exchange, a crossroads of artists between East and West.
Its glorious past is witnessed by no fewer than 8 monuments inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage list (since 1996): basilicas and baptisteries that make it the city with the richest heritage of 5th- and 6th-century mosaics in the world.
And there’s more: this is where the remains of Dante are kept, and not in Florence as many believe.
In short, you have no excuses: if you’re in Emilia-Romagna, you must give yourself at least one day in this beautiful city.
Here’s what to see in Ravenna, between monuments, mosaics and a pinch of history, from the roller coasters to the sea.
Let’s go!
Why Ravenna became a capital
Before discovering what to see in Ravenna, let me briefly tell you its story.
The city rose to importance in 402 AD, when Honorius, emperor of the West, moved the capital from Milan to Ravenna under the threat of Alaric, king of the Visigoths. At the time Ravenna held a better strategic position than Rome: surrounded by lagoons and marshes, it was practically impregnable and had an excellent military port at Classe.
It remained capital of the Western Roman Empire until its fall (476). Then, from 493, it became the capital of the kingdom of Theodoric, the enlightened king of the Ostrogoths; and finally, after Justinian’s reconquest, the heart of the Byzantine exarchate in Italy.
In the Middle Ages Ravenna was a free commune and long remained under the rule of its archbishops, among the most powerful in Italy. Today it’s famous as a city of art, and also for the Mirabilandia amusement park just outside town (thrills guaranteed on the Katun roller coaster!).
After this short introduction, it’s time to discover its most beautiful monuments.
The Baptistery of the Orthodox and of the Arians
Among the things to see in Ravenna are, without doubt, these two monuments.
The Baptistery of the Orthodox (or Neonian) and the Baptistery of the Arians bear witness to the different religious inclinations that coexisted in this ancient capital, but above all they hold some of the most beautiful mosaics in Ravenna.
The Neonian Baptistery was built in the early 5th century beside the cathedral of bishop Ursus (now gone). It has a simple octagonal plan, but its true treasure is the dome mosaics, completed in the mid-5th century by archbishop Neon. The decoration is arranged in concentric circles: the etimasia (the empty throne prepared), the apostles in procession and, at the centre, the baptism of Jesus (the strange figure next to Christ is the personification of the river Jordan).
When, from 493, Theodoric made Ravenna his capital, he drained the surrounding marshes and founded the quarter of the Goths, with a church and a baptistery, today called of the Arians, inspired by the Orthodox one.
The dome mosaics of the Arian Baptistery also depict the apostles and the baptism of Jesus, but the style is different: art was shifting from “Roman” to “Medieval”, the figures simpler and more stylised. What mattered was the message, not the way of depicting it.
The Mausoleum of Galla Placidia
Among the protagonists of the history of Ravenna are some incredible figures who shaped the history of Italy.
The first is the fascinating Galla Placidia, whose story still echoes through the city’s streets. This woman played an enormous role in the late empire: daughter, sister, wife and mother of emperors (she was even a hostage and then queen of the Visigoths), she held power for years as regent for her son, the future emperor Valentinian III.
To her we owe the so-called mausoleum, a small cross-shaped building that stood next to the now-vanished church of Santa Croce. A word of warning about a curiosity: despite its name, it is almost certain that Galla Placidia is not buried here (she died in Rome in 450 and was probably laid to rest there); tradition, however, has forever tied this jewel-box to her name.
And jewel-box is the right word: the plainness of the exterior gives no hint of the beauty of the mosaics inside, among the oldest in Ravenna (around 425-450). The famous starry vault, a midnight-blue sky studded with more than 500 golden stars around a cross, takes your breath away, and it’s rightly considered one of the most evocative images in all of late-antique art.
If there’s one thing you must see in Ravenna, it’s this.
The Mausoleum of Theodoric and Dante’s tomb
Another important funerary monument is the Mausoleum of Theodoric, just outside the ancient walls, in the Rocca Brancaleone area: it’s well worth a visit.
It was built with blocks of white Istrian stone and features the typical decorative motifs of Ostrogothic influence (nothing to do with medieval Gothic), carved as if on jewellery. Its most incredible feature is the roof: a single, enormous monolithic stone about ten metres across and weighing over 200 tonnes, the ingens saxum mentioned by the chronicles. How it was ever lifted into place remains a small mystery of ancient engineering.
Ravenna is also home to the tomb of the divine poet, Dante Alighieri, who spent the last years of his exile here and died on the night of 13-14 September 1321. His remains rest in a neoclassical temple (by Camillo Morigia, 1780-81) beside the basilica of San Francesco, in the so-called “zone of silence”. A curiosity: Florence, which had banished him, has vainly claimed his remains for centuries, and to this day donates every year the oil for the votive lamp that burns on the tomb. The people of Ravenna keep their treasure close.
Sant’Apollinare Nuovo
Theodoric commissioned the church of Sant’Apollinare Nuovo, attached to his palace and decorated with beautiful mosaics of strong Byzantine character.
The mosaic of Sant’Apollinare Nuovo is divided into three bands. At the top, above the windows, are stories from the life of Jesus (the oldest surviving mosaic cycle of the life of Christ); between the windows stand prophets and saints; below, on the left, the depiction of the port of Classe and, on the right, the palace of Theodoric.
These mosaics were partly reworked by archbishop Agnellus, under Justinian, who reconsecrated the church to the Catholic rite (Theodoric was an Arian): he had the figures of the Gothic court between the palace columns erased and replaced with curtains. If you look carefully, you can still spot “ghost” hands and feet left on the columns, traces of the erased figures. The two long processions of holy virgins and martyrs were added at the same time.
San Vitale and Sant’Apollinare in Classe
The Basilica of San Vitale is one of those beauties known all over the world and often ignored by us Italians ourselves.
Work began around 526, under bishop Ecclesius, and was funded by the mysterious banker Julianus Argentarius with the enormous sum of 26,000 gold solidi; the basilica was consecrated in 547-548 by bishop Maximian. It blends Roman and Byzantine architecture: the plan is octagonal, with chapels opening like the petals of a flower, and the mosaics, with their vivid colours and golden background, will dazzle you.
The stars of this masterpiece are emperor Justinian, his wife Theodora and the court, portrayed in a hieratic pose detached from reality. And here’s a gem: neither Justinian nor Theodora ever set foot in Ravenna, yet they are immortalised forever on these walls. The presbytery is decorated with stories from the Old and New Testament, evangelists and saints.
San Vitale left an extraordinary legacy: almost three centuries later, Charlemagne took it as the model for the Palatine Chapel at Aachen, carrying off columns and marbles from Ravenna.
The abstraction is even more evident in the basilica of Sant’Apollinare in Classe, outside the city and near the sea, with its magnificent green-and-gold apse mosaic. Entry is ticketed but truly worth it.
You absolutely must add them to your list of what to see in Ravenna.
Practical information for Ravenna
Five of the main monuments (San Vitale, the Mausoleum of Galla Placidia, Sant’Apollinare Nuovo, the Neonian Baptistery and the Archiepiscopal Museum with the Chapel of Sant’Andrea) are visited with a single combined ticket of €16.50, valid for 7 days. Note: from March to June, visiting the Mausoleum of Galla Placidia and the Neonian Baptistery requires a timed-slot reservation, with a €2 supplement (better to book ahead, especially at weekends).
Outside this ticket, with separate entry, are the Basilica of Sant’Apollinare in Classe and the Mausoleum of Theodoric (both state-run); Dante’s tomb, on the other hand, is free to enter.
How to reach Ravenna
The easiest connections are by road: from the north you arrive on the A14 motorway from Bologna. By train, from Bologna you reach Ravenna in a little over an hour. The nearest airports are Bologna, Rimini, Forlì and Venice.
And since you’re in Romagna, take the chance to extend your itinerary: just a few kilometres away await Rimini with its Roman and Malatesta treasures, lively Cesenatico and the village of Santarcangelo di Romagna.
And you, which mosaic in Ravenna would you put first?
