Byzantine Empress Theodora in the Basilica di San Vitale
Ravenna is wonderful. We are here for two nights to see its ancient churches and Byzantine mosaics, which are considered the best in the world. I've been pretty excited about this stop, and I'm happy to say it has entirely lived up to my expectations.
In the early 5th century, Ravenna briefly became the capital of the Roman Empire when Rome was under threat from barbarian invasions. Shortly thereafter, the barbarians (specifically the Goths) conquered Rome and then Ravenna. They were Christians too, so they built and maintained churches in Ravenna. Not too long after that, Ravenna became the western capital of the Byzantine Empire. That's why this unassuming city in northeast Italy has several churches just as old as Rome.
Yet despite its great history and art, Ravenna isn't overrun by tourists. We saw plenty of fellow visitors at the churches, but we shared the streets almost entirely with locals. And the streets are some of the quietest we've experienced, thanks to a large pedestrianized zone and far less noisy mopeds than usual. Instead of mopeds there are bikes everywhere, and in fact tourists can rent yellow bicycles for free! The buildings are not especially quaint or historic (thanks in part to heavy bombing in WWII), but they are painted in the traditional warm hues and everything is well-kept and clean. The shops are fantastic and the locals seem well-off and happy.
If all that weren't enough, Ravenna is in the region of Emilia-Romagna, which is said to have the best food of any Italian region. We've only had one proper meal here, but it was indeed quite possibly the best we've had in Italy. And it was incredibly cheap! We had dinner outside and it was the perfect evening for it. The weather has been beautifully sunny the last few days, almost a little too hot!
We've also been gazing in the windows of food shops, which are especially beautiful and mouth-watering in Ravenna. Fresh cheese and meats, shiny olives, golden hand-made pasta.... Drool. They also have a covered market, which gave us fond memories of Oxford.
During our short stay here we've visited several churches, two baptisteries, the mausoleum of an empress, and a small museum. The attractions are spaced throughout the city but none are more than a 10-minute walk apart. Well, with one exception - one of the 6th-century churches with Byzantine mosaics is 8km south of Ravenna in the port town of Classe, which we had to drive to.
We've taken hundreds of photos and I'm so pleased with our new collection, but I'll have to share just a sample for now. Virtually all the churches and mosaics date from the 400s and 500s.
One of the first depictions of the Four Gospels, in the Mausoleum
These and a few more photos can be seen in my Ravenna set on Flickr.
We are staying at the Hotel Bisanzio, which has a good central location. The decor is terribly '70s in style, but other than that we've been happy here. We have free (excellent) wireless internet, a comfy bed, and the men at the front desk speak excellent English and have been so nice and helpful. The breakfast is pretty good, too.
Tomorrow we make another three-hour drive to Bergamo, our base for taking the train into Milan. And that is our last stop in Italy!