Visiting Ravenna, the city of mosaics

Short columns

Friday, April 26, found us leaving Senigallia, and driving to Ravenna. It is located in the Emilia Romagna Region, also bordering on the Adriatic Sea. Our first stop was the church of St. Apollinaire, a sixth century early Christian church. It was the main church of the city of Classe, which was a sea port, but no longer exists. We found out that this was an area of sand and underground water which caused the land to sink over the centuries. So, the churches and monuments also sank and most of them were considerably shorter than originally built. The columns in the church were cut and the pieces could be used in other construction. So, all of the buildings we saw were very old, but very changed from the original.

Mosaic in St. Apollinare

The next church we visited was Basilica di Sant’ Apollinaire Nuevo. It was built in the 9th century as the new church dedicated to St. Apollinaire and contained his relics. This church was the most beautiful with golden mosaics covering the apse depicting many scenes from the old and new testament. Our guide was extremely knowledgeable and explained almost every scene with many interesting details about the meaning of the pictures.

The next monuments we visited were extremely crowded with long lines waiting to get in. We were lucky to be on a tour and go right in! We visited the Orthodox Baptistry, which is the oldest monument in the city, built in the fifth century. It is a brick octagonal building (the number 8 symbolizing the 7 days of creation and the resurrection). Inside is covered with mosaics on the walls and huge baptismal fount in the center.

We walked on and entered the Basilica of St. Vitale, which also contains a fantastic display of mosaics and frescoes. Frescoes do not do well in such a humid environment, which may explain the existence of so many mosaics. Nearby was the Mausoleum of Galla Placida. It is a small brick building, where only small groups can enter and then stay for about 5 minutes. Again the walls were covered with gorgeous mosaics.

Basillica of St. Vitale

Mausoleum of Galla Placida

Our hotel, Hotel Bisanzio, was just around the corner. After walking over 3 ½ miles we were thrilled to see it!