Ravenna in half a day
Description
You can visit Ravenna even in half a day: this will be enough to know its culture and history and to realize how this town is rich in architecture and art by the knowledge of the different religions that during the past strongly influenced all the mosaics decorations and its buildings.
Tour Options
Itinerary
Our tour will start from the Church of Sant’ Apollinare Nuovo and after walking in Piazza Del Popolo the main square and Dante’s tomb area will end at the Basilica of San Vitale. (first half VI cent.). All the monuments involved in our tour are in the city centre – walking area where we can also also drink a good coffee! Sant’Apollinare Nuovo (end V cent.) is in Via di Roma near the railway station. This area is very quiet. The external of the church is very simple but inside you can find beautiful mosaics decorations of Justinianean age (Catholic) and the age of Theodoric (Arian faith) . In fact this church has been defined the “church for two religions”: we will discover together why. The king Theodoric in fact (454-526) of arian religion commissioned the building of this church at the end of V cent. Mosaics decorations got inspiration from the influence of the greek-roman taste and from Justinian mosaic taste . Consequently it is the most characteristic building concerning the ravennate byzantine art. Mosaics decorations on the walls allow us to follow the evolution from the age of king Theodoric to Justinian one, an important melting port of different cultures and languages.
From Via di Roma we will go to the city centre to reach the “silent area” : here the famous Italian poet Dante Alighieri lived. This area is dedicated to its memory and cult . His tomb is a simple neo-classical building near St.Francis cloisters and church in which in 1321 Dante’s funerals took place.
Next monument of our tour will be the Battistero Neoniano (beg.V cent.) from bishop Neon who got the baptistery decorated with the mosaics of the dome. It is situated near the actual cathedral and it is richly decorated with stuccos, inlays of polychrome marbles and mosaics: different techniques integrated themselves perfectly to give life to an extraordinary united and harmonic complex.
After the visit to the Baptistery we will reach the basilica of San Vitale (VI cent.) the byzantine monument “par excellence” . The church has a central octagonal plan and its wonderful panels that represent the emperor Justinian with its suite and the empress Theodora, his wife, are famous all over the world. Both the scenes as well as their artistic value have a documentary one really extraordinary. From them in fact we can deduce the splendour of the byzantine court.
Going out of the basilica we go towards the mausoleum of the roman empress Galla Placidia. It was built within the first half of the Vth cent. probably by Galla Placidia. It is a little construction but on entering you will be impressed by the magnificence of the decorations and of the mosaic scenes, especially by the unreal atmosphere in which you find yourselves.The lunette of the Good Shepherd among his flock is one of the most beautiful mosaics of Early Christian Art.
Highlights
What's included
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Wheelchair accessible
- Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
- Service animals allowed
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Transportation options are wheelchair accessible
- All areas and surfaces are wheelchair accessible
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
Reviews(7)
Very informative tour to the amazing places in Ravens. Worth the time and it helped explain so much of the history of the places.
In the language description, Ms. Titarelli speaks several languages, including German. My husband and I therefore decided that this was worth €136.85 to us and that we would book a German tour with her. We booked and paid for a tour in German and had it confirmed by the organizer. Ms. Tittarelli then wrote to us that she would be giving the tour in English. When I asked directly, she just said "no problem". We traveled there especially and waited at the agreed location for 45 minutes. Until it turned out that "no problem" meant "I'm not coming" for her. That was very annoying. The agency refunded us the money very quickly and without any problems.
I am very sorry for what happened Pls accept my apologies, but all this was caused by a misunderstanding I am very disappointed abt this very unpleasant event Kindest regards
Cinzia, our guide, was fantastic. She gave us so much information. Truly a great experience. We did get a crook in our necks from looking up so much...Haha!
Cinzia was an excellent and extremely knowledgeable guide. The architecture of all places visited were magnificent and the mosaics were spectacular! Cinzia’s thorough explanation of everything really made the difference the with the entire experience!
Cinzia Tittarelli is a fantastic tour guide for Ravenna. We had only one day in Ravenna and wanted to make the most of it. Cinzia met us at our hotel on time, spoke fluent english, purchased entry tickets in advance, and was extremely knowledgeable about everything Ravenna. She is the ultimate story teller to describe the history of Ravenna from its origins through today. Her great combination of romance, history, wealth, war, and art was terrific. She presented every mosaic we saw in a way we could understand and appreciate the beauty of every piece we saw. She also made suggestions on other sights we could enjoy on our own. Cinzia is highly recommended for the Best Tour Guide in Ravenna. January 2023
There seemed to have been a Trip Advisor platform problem on the booking, and as a result we had to be flexible about the time of our tour. That said, Cinzia Tittarelli gave us a great tour and was very knowledgeable about all the sites, and likely due to Trip Advisor's snafu, took us to an additional point of interest. I would not hesitate to book another tour with her, but am now a little reticent to book a tour only two days in advance.
