Ravenna

David and I have birthdays 6 days apart.  I’ve always enjoyed having our birthdays so close together- sometimes we pick something really special to do as a joint birthday celebration; and other years we just stretch our celebrating over the entire week.  How we decided to celebrate our birthdays in Italy actually says a lot about us.  I wanted to go out for a delicious Italian meal.  When I think of Italy, the first thing that comes to mind is the food.

David, on the other hand, planned a day trip to Ravenna to look at Byzantine art and architecture.  Ravenna is about 90 minutes by train from Bologna, and well worth the trip.  Its churches are 1,500 years old.  To give a quick historical background, Ravenna was established as the Western Roman capital in 402 when Rome was under attack from barbarian tribes.  The Goths conquered the city in 476, and the Western Roman Empire was brought to an end.  In 540, the Byzantine Emperor Justinian I conquered the Goths and “turned Ravenna into a pinnacle of civilization” (Rick Steves).  It has remained an important city ever since, and has wonderful examples of art from the Roman, Gothic, Byzantine, and medieval periods.  Literary giants Dante and Lord Byron also spent time living in Ravenna. 

We bought a city pass which gave us entrance to 5 churches and museums.  I must say, I love mosaic art.  It was what drew me to Gaudi’s work in Barcelona.  The Byzantine art in Ravenna is among the best in the world- second only to Turkey- and it’s 1,500 years old!  I was amazed at how well preserved the mosaics are- how brilliantly the green and gold stones shine.  My pictures don’t do them justice.

Basilica San Vitale

Justinian I

We also visited Dante’s tomb.  Some trivia facts about Dante you may not know- he was exiled from Florence for political reasons and spent the rest of his life in Ravenna, where he died of malaria.  Dante’s work helped to establish the Italian language as we know it today…and his tomb is inscribed in Latin.  After his death, the city of Florence forgave him and requested his remains so they could bury him there.  Ravenna refused; and as penance, Florence is responsible for keeping the eternal flame lit in his tomb.

 

I really enjoyed Ravenna- it was quiet, charming, and not touristy.  We saw everything we wanted to see in about 4 hours, so it was perfect for a day trip.  The only thing I disliked was having to compete with people returning from Rimini beaches on the train trip home.  We ended up standing for the entire 90 minutes.  Note to self- plan carefully when travelling on a Sunday in August in Italy.  I can’t wait for the summer vacation season to end. 

We’re planning a trip to Venice next weekend, so stay tuned!

...this has nothing to do with Italy, just a new friend I met coming out of the grocery store :)