Day Trips From Bologna - Ravenna

A second highlight was a day trip to Ravenna, to see the mosaics.   Ravenna was the capital of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century, and for a brief period the rulers built elaborate churches that were decorated with mosaics in the interiors.   For various reasons, these churches are now the best remaining examples of Byzantine mosaics in existence.   It helps, of course, that mosaics are less fragile than paint.   Again, there is nothing like seeing these mosaics in the churches that they were made for, because you see both the mosaics and the architectural space the were meant to be seen in.   There are three or four main sites in the town.   To me the most striking was the Basilica of San Vitale, with its beautiful octagonal interior.   It was completed in the year 527, and combines elements of both Roman and Byzantine architecture.   Again, I can't really photograph the architecture or the space, but I can photograph the mosaics.

                       

Nearby is the very small Mausoleum of Galla Placidia, which was built around the same time.  You can see the mosaics very well.

Ravenna also has an exquisite baptistry, in the usual octagonal shape.





Inside:

The domed ceiling:

Detail:

In a museum, the small chapel of Sant'Andrea:

And finally, the Basilica di Sant'Apollinare Nuovo, which has a large, rectangular shape:

The bell tower outside:

                    

We saw this, the throne of an early pope, made out of carved ivory:

A building in Ravenna: