Our journey into history starts from the Roman Age (V century), with the visit of the Neonian Baptistery, the most ancient baptistery in town, still active and decorated with wonderful mosaics representing the Baptism of Christ and the procession of the apostles, and of the Mausoleum of Galla Placidia. The Roman empress, a very religious woman, built this place to contain the remains of her and her family, and the beautiful mosaic in here represent stories of the Bible and Saints, but also fine decorations that remind the eastern art and the nature; on top the famous starry sky enchant for its light and its golden shines.

We explore the places related to Theodoric, the Ostrogoth’s King (V-VI centuries), starting with the Basilica of Sant’Apollinare Nuovo, a Palatine church decorated with mosaics that show stories of Jesus and the important places of ancient Ravenna as the port of Classis and the Palace of Theodoric. Together with the mosaic of Theodoric’s time, we have here also the bright procession of martyrs and virgins, a Byzantine addition that proves the troubled past of this church. We visit then the Arian Baptistery, built by the great king for the Arian community, and we leave for a moment the mosaics to admire the white stone of Istria in the Mausoleum of Theodoric, a massive monument surrounded by the green of a pleasant public park (only exterior visit of the mausoleum).

We admire the magnificence of the Byzantine time (VI century), with the grandiose Basilica of San Vitale, with its particular octagonal shape and famous for the variety of its marble and the fine mosaics representing the emperor Justinian and his wife Theodora. We move to the Basilica of Sant’Apollinare in Classe, the only surviving church of the ancient port city: in the apse richly decorated with an idyllic garden, stands out a bright golden cross and the figure of the Saint to whom the church is dedicated.

We pay homage to the major Italian poet visiting Dante’s area, with the evocative flooded crypt of the Basilica of Saint Francis and the neoclassical Tomb of Dante Alighieri: we discover the adventurous story of its remains, stolen from the Franciscan Friars to keep them in Ravenna, and the love of Ravenna people for the poet throughout the centuries.

We enjoy a cup of coffee or an ice cream in Piazza del Popolo, the beautiful Town Hall square with its elegant Venetian characteristics, and we make a short visit to one of the many mosaic workshops.

DURATION: 6 hours