Ravenna - "symphony of color"

Ravenna, the last capital of the Western Roman Empire, is amazing because eight monuments from the UNESCO World Heritage List are lost among its narrow streets! Of all the precious jewels of Emilia-Romagna, none shines brighter than Ravenna and her early Christian and Byzantine mosaics.

In his Divine Comedy, Dante, who was buried here, referred to them as a “symphony of color.” Ravenna is a very interesting city, rich in ancient monuments - just think: V-VI centuries! Her fantastic mosaics are just fascinating!

It is sometimes said that mosaics are primitive art. Having visited Ravenna and admired the unique mosaic paintings, you can discard all thoughts about primitiveness. With their skill, mosaicists convey to us the lightness and coolness of linen, the softness and warmth of velvet, the tenderness and roughness of the skin of deer - all this can really be seen and felt.

Alexander Blok wrote in a letter to his mother, summing up his Italian journey, What we have not seen: almost all the Italian mountains, two seas, dozens of museums and hundreds of churches, but... Everyone is dearer to me than Ravenna.”

“All that is minute, all that is mortal,

You've been buried for centuries.

You sleep like a baby, Ravenna.

Sleepy eternity in your hands. ?

To see all 8 UNESCO monuments, you need a 6-hour tour. For 3 hours of excursion you can see all the main things: the church of San Apollinaria Nova, which has preserved mosaics of the Theodoric era, the temple of San Francesco, where we will see the crypt of an early Christian church submerged under water. In this church in 1321, the deceased Dante was buried, and nearby there is a chapel, where the great poet of world literature is buried.

The Orthodox Baptistery, or Neon – the oldest building of Ravenna, is named so to distinguish it from the Arian Baptistery, where the mosaic decoration, stucco and marble inlay of the second half of the 5th century is striking.

An important part of the tour takes place inside San Vitale - perhaps the most beautiful church of Ravenna, where we admire the mosaics of the Byzantine period. In conclusion, the pearl of Ravenna: a small, inconspicuous building that hides inside a treasure of dazzling beauty - the mausoleum of the Empress Galla Placidia.