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Ravenna

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Interior Of Church

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Overview

For mosaic lovers, Ravenna is an earthly paradise. Spread out over several churches and baptisteries around town is one of the world's most dazzling collections of early Christian mosaic artwork, enshrined since 1996 on Unesco's World Heritage list. Wandering through the unassuming town centre today, you'd never imagine that for a three-century span beginning in AD 402, Ravenna served as capital of the Western Roman Empire, chief city of the Ostrogoth Kingdom of Italy and nexus of a powerful Byzantine exarchate. During this prolonged golden age, while the rest of the Italian peninsula flailed in the wake of Barbarian invasions, Ravenna became a fertile art studio for skilled craftsmen, who covered the city's terracotta brick churches in heart-rendingly beautiful mosaics.

Attractions

Must-see attractions

  • RAVENNA, ITALY - JULY 22, 2014: interior of the medieval church of Sant'Apollinare in Classe, built from 6th century.

    Basilica di Sant'Apollinare in Classe

    Ravenna

    This signature early Christian basilica, lighter than Ravenna's other churches, is situated 5km southeast of town in the former Roman port of Classe. Its…

  • ITALY - JULY 24: Mosaics in the apse vault, 538-545, Basilica of San Vitale (UNESCO World Heritage List, 1996), founded 526, Ravenna, Emilia-Romagna, Italy. (Photo by DeAgostini/Getty Images)

    Basilica di San Vitale

    Ravenna

    Sometimes, after weeks of strolling around dark Italian churches, you can lose your sense of wonder. Not here! The lucid mosaics that adorn the altar of…

  • Interior of the Basilica of St Apollinare Nuovo 481641456 Saint, Byzantine, Tourism, Building Exterior, Arcade, Basilica, Art, Mosaic, Arch, History, Ancient, New, Italian Culture, Famous Place, Italy, Europe, Church, Apollinare, emilia, Ravenna, Romagna, Apollinaris

    Basilica di Sant'Apollinare Nuovo

    Ravenna

    An old legend states that Pope Gregory the Great once ordered the Apollinare's mosaics to be blackened as they were distracting worshippers from prayer. A…

  • dark blue Ceiling Mosaic of the galla placidia mausoleum. Built between 425 and 433, this small mausoleum adopts a cruciform plan, in Ravenna, Italy on November 4, 2012

    Mausoleo di Galla Placidia

    Ravenna

    In the same complex as Basilica di San Vitale, the small but equally incandescent Mausoleo di Galla Placidia was constructed for Galla Placidia, the half…

  • Ravenna, IT - 2020 Jul: Archiepiscopal cathedral interior of the Duomo of Ravenna. Relics of early Christian Ravenna are preserved, including mosaics from first cathedral church; Shutterstock ID 1828111559; purchase_order: 65050; job: poi; client: ; other: 1828111559

    Duomo

    Ravenna

    Consecrated in 1749, Ravenna's baroque cathedral was built atop the remains of a much earlier church. Artefacts from the original 5th-century cathedral…

  • CLASSIS Ravenna

    CLASSIS Ravenna

    Ravenna

    Ravenna's new city museum, located in an 1899 sugar-extraction plant just down the road from Basilica di Sant'Apollinare in Classe, welcomes you with its…

  • Mausoleo di Teodorico

    Mausoleo di Teodorico

    Ravenna

    Historically and architecturally distinct from Ravenna's other Unesco sites (there are no mosaics here), this two-storey mausoleum was built in 520 for…

  • Battistero Neoniano

    Battistero Neoniano

    Ravenna

    Roman ruins aside, this is Ravenna's oldest intact building, constructed over the site of a former Roman bathing complex in the late 4th century. Built in…

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