The Mosaics of Ravenna

Ravenna served three empires as capital - the last Western Roman emperors, Theodoric's Ostrogothic kingdom, then Byzantine Italy - and each poured its treasury into mosaic until this quiet Adriatic town held some of the finest early Christian art in the western world. Eight monuments carry the UNESCO listing: the Basilica of San Vitale, consecrated in the 540s, keeps the celebrated court panels of Justinian and Theodora in shimmering gold; the tiny Mausoleum of Galla Placidia glows under a vault of deep-blue stars that visitors gasp at on cue; Sant'Apollinare Nuovo runs its long processions of martyrs and virgins down the nave; and out in the fields, Sant'Apollinare in Classe raises its green meadow of apse mosaic over the old port. Dante, exiled from Florence, died here in 1321 - his tomb adds the literary pilgrimage to the imperial one.

What you actually see

• San Vitale - Justinian and Theodora holding court in gold tesserae.
• Galla Placidia's vault - the starry blue ceiling of the small mausoleum.
• Sant'Apollinare Nuovo - the mosaic processions the length of the nave.
• Dante's tomb - the exile's quiet resting place near the Franciscan church.

When to go

Spring and autumn for comfortable walking between the sites; winter is quiet and the interiors glow regardless of weather. Summer brings coach groups from the Adriatic beach resorts at midday.

Honest expectations

The combined ticket covers the five central diocesan monuments and is the only sensible buy; Galla Placidia takes timed slots with minutes-long visits in high season. The town itself is flat, low-key and easily done as a day trip from Bologna - the mosaics are the entire, sufficient point.

Nearby

Sant'Apollinare in Classe a few kilometres south, Bologna an hour west, and the Comacchio lagoons up the coast.