Ravenna

Executive summary by darmansjah

Ravenna  is the capital city of the Province of Ravenna in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy. It was the capital city of the Western Roman Empire from 402 until that empire collapsed in 476. It then served as the capital of the Kingdom of the Ostrogoths until it was re-conquered in 540 by the Eastern Roman (Byzantine) Empire. Afterwards, the city formed the centre of the Byzantine Exarchate of Ravenna until the invasion of the Franks in 751, after which it became the seat of the Kingdom of the Lombards.

Although an inland city, Ravenna is connected to the Adriatic Sea by the Candiano Canal. It is the location of eight UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

Main Sights

    Baptistry of Neon (c. 430)

    Mausoleum of Galla Placidia (c. 430)

    Arian Baptistry (c. 500)

    Archiepiscopal Chapel (c. 500)

    Basilica of Sant'Apollinare Nuovo (c. 500)

    Mausoleum of Theoderic (520)

    Basilica of San Vitale (548)

    Basilica of Sant'Apollinare in Classe (549)

Other attractions include:

The sixth-century church of the Spirito Santo, which has been quite drastically altered since the sixth century. It was originally the Arian cathedral. The façade has a 16th-century portico with five arcades.

The church of St. John the Evangelist is from the 5th century, erected by Galla Placidia after she survived a storm at sea. It was restored after the World War II bombings. The belltower contains four bells, the two majors dating back to 1208.

The St. Francis basilica, rebuilt in the 10th–11th centuries over a precedent edifice dedicated to the Apostles and later to St. Peter. Behind the humble brick façade, it has a nave and two aisles.

Fragments of mosaics from the first church are visible on the floor, which is usually covered by water after heavy rains (together with the crypt). Here the funeral ceremony of Dante Alighieri was held in 1321. The poet is buried in a tomb annexed to the church, the local authorities having resisted for centuries all demands by Florence for return of the remains of its most famous exile.

The Baroque church of Santa Maria Maggiore (525–532, rebuilt in 1671). It houses a picture by Luca Longhi.

The church of San Giovanni Battista (1683), also in Baroque style, with a Middle Ages campanile.

The basilica of Santa Maria in Porto (16th century), with a rich façade from the 18th century. It has a nave and two aisles, with a high cupola. It houses the image of famous Greek Madonna, which was allegedly brought to Ravenna from Constantinople.

The nearby Communal Gallery has various works from Romagnoli painters.

The Rocca Brancaleone ("Brancaleone Castle"), built by the Venetians in 1457. Once part of the city walls, it is now a public park. It is divided into two parts: the true Castle and the Citadel, the latter having an extent of 14,000 m2.

The "so-called Palace of Theoderic", in fact the entrance to the former church of San Salvatore. It includes mosaics from the true palace of the Ostrogoth king.

The church of Santa Eufemia (18th century), gives access to the so-called Stone Carpets Domus (6th–7th century): this houses splendid mosaics from a Byzantine palace.

The National Museum.

The Archiepiscopal Museum

Ravenna has an important commercial and tourist port. Ravenna railway station has direct Trenitalia service to Bologna, Ferrara, Lecce, Milan, Parma, Rimini, Venice and Verona. Ravenna Airport is located in Ravenna. The nearest commercial airports are those of Forlì, Rimini and Bologna. By road the city can be reached on freeway A14-bis from the hub of Bologna; on the north-south axis of EU routes E45 (from Rome) and E55 (SS-309 "Romea" from Venice); and on the regional Ferrara-Rimini axis of SS-16 (partially called "Adriatica").