If …. No, WHEN I head back to Ravenna, I’d stay at least 2 nights to explore ALL its museos,chiesa, piazzales and basilicas. It ain’t designated a World Heritage Site for nothin’. This City of Mosaics is one for the books and I’ve got to say the admission price to hit many historical sites is a steal! For far less than the admission price to ONE museo elsewhere, we were able to stand in awe inside the Basilica Di San Vitale till our craned necks grew stiff. The photos don’t do justice. The light streaming from the windows lends a certain mystique and the trees outside add charm in all its autumn foliage. I delighted in walking from the Basilica towards the nearby Mausoleo Di Galla Placidia, stepping on and feeling the fallen leaves crunch under my boots. Sat in one of the stone benches to admire the simple, tiny courtyard between the two structures. Perfect activity that morning we visited.
Basilica Di San Vitale isn’t easy to wipe off your memory. So lovely. It’s the perfect example of early Christian Byzantine architecture. Inscribed among 8 Ravenna structures in the UNESCO World Heritage List, its beautiful and richly ornamented cross-ribbed vaults and mosaics speak for itself. I wish I can retell the Biblical stories manifested in this mosaic series but I can only figure out some of the “sacrifices” and tragedies from the Old Testament like Abraham sacrificing Isaac and the story of Abel and Cain. There were many many more that one is tempted to lie down on the lovely floor to view the vaults, the ceilings and arches without craning one’s neck.
Most shops were closed though as we passed them on way to Battistero Neoniano, a lovely octagonal building near the Piazza Duomo. Temps hardly rose from 0 to 5 C during our visit. We took refuge in the Museo Arcivescovile e Capella Di San Andrea. Sorry, but no photography allowed inside. Not too far from here but still a good walk is Basilica Di Sant Apollinaire Nuovo. Midway between these 2 iconic landmarks is the Tomb of Dante Alighieri of INFERNO fame. A day tour of Ravenna is simply NOT enough to cover all the sites in this city so rich in culture, history and art. The best deal of course is that it isn’t as touristy as Rome, Verona, Florence, Siena, Venice or even Bologna!
Oh. Ravenna! I wish to walk your streets again with more deliberate steps, inching my way slowly from one heritage site to the next.
