ALL THAT GLITTERS

A safe haven for Dante who escaped here after being banished from Florence, a romantic setting for Lord Byron’s love affair with Countess Teresa Gamba Guiccioli, an endless source of inspiration for Gustav Klimt’s glittering paintings, a memory to cherish in the verses of Oscar Wilde – who knows what Ravenna will enshrine for you? Explore Italy’s most sparkling town on a full-day excursion from Bologna.

Between 402 and 751 AD Ravenna was chosen as a capital city three times. It served as the Western Roman Empire’s centre of power, the seat of the King of the Ostrogoths and the westernmost outpost of the Byzantine Empire. The invasion of the Lombards in the 8th century eventually led to a financial, commercial and demographic decline. This was, however, a stroke of luck as Ravenna’s treasures were then forgotten and hence managed to survive. Traces of the city’s golden age still shine along the walls and ceilings of its 1,500-year-old religious buildings, embellished with a dazzling collection of amazingly well-preserved Early Christian and Byzantine mosaics. The city is home to eight UNESCO World Heritage Sites, built and decorated in the 5th and 6th centuries, which attest to the artistic skill of local craftsmen and the refined decorative tastes of yesteryear’s ruling class.

Meet your driver outside your accommodation in Bologna and relax on the ride to Ravenna. Here your private guide will be waiting, ready to lead you on an exploration of the city’s most important monuments. Your tour begins with a visit to the Mausoleum of Galla Placidia. Behind the bare walls of this small, unassuming building, some of the city’s oldest mosaics, dating to the first half of the 5th century AD, are carefully safeguarded. According to tradition, the shrine was constructed at the request of Galla Placidia, daughter of Emperor Theodosius I and sister of Emperor Honorius, as a final resting place for herself and her family, although she was probably buried in Rome. The magnificent mosaics that cover the vaults, lunettes and dome perfectly blend Hellenic-Roman influences with traditional Christian iconography. Your guide will point out features of particular significance, including the impressive golden-starred cobalt-blue sky on the ceiling, and help you decipher the underlying symbolic meaning behind the scenes that you will see, which represent the victory of eternal life over death.

The nearby Church of San Vitale, built in 526, boasts a stunning display of brightly coloured 6th century mosaics featuring scenes from the Old Testament, apostles, angels, saints, peacocks, the Lamb of God, a theophany and a profusion of festoons of leaves, fruits and flowers. Among the church’s most noteworthy representations are the mosaic portraits of Emperor Justinian of Byzantium and his ambitious wife Theodora, their lavish robes and jewels rendered in tiny tesserae arranged at different angles so as to create a three dimensional illusion.

A short walk will bring you to the 5th century Baptistry of Neon. The simplicity of the exterior belies the wonderful sights that await visitors once they cross the threshold. Step inside and lift your gaze to take in the splendid ceiling mosaic showing the Baptism of Christ by St. John, surrounded by the apostles, altars and thrones.

Don’t forget to pay homage to Italy’s best-loved poet. Florentine exile Dante Alighieri, who completed his masterwork, the Divine Comedy, in Ravenna and died here from malaria in 1321, has rested in town ever since. His tomb is placed inside a Neoclassical chapel where a small oil lamp burns continuously, the fuel being a gift from the poet’s hometown.

The last stop on your tour will lead you to the gleaming Basilica of Sant’Apollinare Nuovo. Erected in the first quarter of the 6th century by Ostrogoth King Theodoric the Great as his private chapel, the church is decorated with scenes from the New Testament, figures of saints and prophets, processions of martyrs and virgins and ancient landmarks of Ravenna, which all stand against a backdrop of precious gilded mosaics. All that glitters here is indeed gold.

After free time for lunch rejoin your driver and return to your accommodation in Bologna.