Ravenna, glaucous night glittering with gold…
No wonder Gabriele D'Annunzio was dazzled by the golden beauty of this magical city, famous for its Byzantine mosaics.
The tour you can take to visit it is really extensive, as many of the attractions are located outside the historical centre even by a few kilometres.
To get you started, then, we have selected for you 5 must-see sights in Ravenna!
Located near the church where his funeral was held in September 1321, Dante Alighieri's tomb boasts a rather curious history. Suffice it to say that the poet's remains have been sought after for centuries by the Florentines and even escaped destruction during two world wars...
In the subsoil of the Church of St. Euphemia hides a great treasure, still perfectly preserved: it is a complex of living structures dating from the Roman Republican to the Byzantine period... with truly extraordinary floors!
This church also hides a real underground wonder... or rather, underwater! Under the basilica there is in fact a crypt, built between the 9th and 10th centuries, partially flooded, which can be reached by a double flight of stairs. A word of advice: keep a coin aside, you may need it to 'light' your way!
Those who find themselves in front of this building might think it is not worth entering: yet the wonder is there, you just have to go beyond the door! Yes, because the simplicity of the exterior is in total contrast to the richness of the interior, whose extraordinary art is due to the will of Galla Placidia, daughter of Theodosius and regent of the Western Roman Empire, who wanted it built to house her family's remains.
We are in the municipality of Ravenna, about 10 km from the city centre, but the landscape could not be more different. Instead of the mosaics and Romanesque-Byzantine buildings of the former capital of the Exarchate of Italy, there are countless water channels, emerging islets, vegetation and, in the background, the Adriatic Sea.
Enjoy your visit!
