Category: Ravenna

Posted on

April 9, 2018

Today we leave Ravenna.  I would definitely suggest a day trip to Ravenna if anyone is coming to Venice!  Here are some general pictures of the town.

After breakfast this morning we went to Domus die Tappeti di Pietra.  The remains and floor mosaics from a house, dating back to the 5th and 6th century, were unearthed when they were digging to build a parking lot.  Here are a couple of pictures.

After visiting the museum we went back to pick up our suitcases and headed to the train station.  Buying the tickets and finding the train was easy.  We took the train from Ravenna to Rimini where we got a bus to San Marino.  The bus ride was about an hour and did not take us all the way to the top.  There were a number of people on the bus including us that stayed on the bus expecting it to go higher.  The bus driver eventually kicked us off the bus.  It had started to rain during the bus ride.  There was another American woman on the bus who is staying at the same hotel.  Turned out we had to hike the rest of the way up the hill.

After checking in and getting settled, I went out to explore the hotel and ran into the other American woman, Cassandra.  She and I went to the tourist office and got our passports stamped.  (Rick Manser – I got the country of San Marino and you didn’t!)

We didn’t go out to explore further as it was raining.

That evening we had a very nice dinner with Cassandra in the hotel.  After dinner Mom and I played several games of dominoes and I beat her decisively.

Posted on

April 8, 2018

 

Sorry this is a long entry but the mosaics were spendid.

After a really good night sleep and breakfast at the hotel we started our mosaic trek.

First stop, Battistero Neoniano which is the most ancient monument in the city. The octagonal brick structure was erected at the end of the 4th or beginning of the 5th century and finished at the end of the 5th century, at which time the mosaic decorations were added. The octagonal design of the building symbolizes the seven days of the week plus the Day of the Resurrection and Eternal Life.  Here is a picture of the outside.

The ceiling mosaic depicts John the Baptist baptizing Jesus standing waist high in the Jordan River. To one side stands the personification of the Jordan river, with a reed in one hand and a garment in the other.  The twelve apostles surround the center mosaic.  Here are pictures of the dome.

Here are other pictures from inside the battistero.

Then we went to the Museo Arcivescoville. In the museum relics of early Christian Ravenna are preserved, including fragments of mosaic from the first cathedral church, and the chapel of Sant’Andrea, dating from the Gothic kingdom.  We couldn’t take pictures but here are a couple I downloaded from the internet.  The first is an ivory bishop’s chair and the second and third are mosaics from the chapel of Sant’Andrea.

Our last stop of the morning was Basilica Sant’Apollinare Nuovo which was erected in the first quarter of the 6th century.  Here are pictures of the church and the mosaics.

After that we stopped in a workshop where they made mosaics and a very nice lady told us about how mosaic are made and gave me the name of a glass shop in Venice that I hope we can go to.

We thought about about having some lunch but neither of us was very hungry so mom had a gelato and I had an apple. We hung out in the room for a little while to make sure mom’s stomach was ok and then headed to the last two mosaic locations.

First, we went to Mausoleo di Galla Placidia.  Here are pictures from here.

Last and certain not least, actually it’s considered the best, was Basilica di San Vitale which was consecrated in 548.  Even the floors were amazing.

After touring we came back to the room to rest up for dinner.  😉

We had a nice dinner at a restaurant recommended by the fellow at the hotel.  After dinner we came back and packed up because we are going to San Marino tomorrow.

 

Posted on

April 7, 2018

After a better night’s sleep we packed up our stuff, went to our breakfast spot and had our juice and croissants. We returned to the apartment to collect our stuff. I double checked that I had my passport before closing the apartment door. (Two years ago I closed the door and left my passport in the apartment which meant we missed our flight, etc. etc. but not this time!)

As we were leaving the wheel on my mom’s suitcase started to break but we pushed forward and essentially dragged it the 1/2 mile to the train station. We are traveling from Padova to Bologna and then on local trains from Bologna to Ravenna. This meant we needed to go to two ticket offices to purchase the tickets. Tickets secured, our next challenge was the ATM, after several tries we got money. We are very accomplished travelers. 😉

We had to wait about an hour for our train.  The train worked well for us.  We traveled through farm lands. All the trees and plants are greening up with spring. Farmers were out planting.  Here’s a picture of mom on the train.

and a picture of the landscape.

Switching trains in Bologna was easy.  When we arrived in Ravenna we walked 0.4 miles to the hotel.  Mom’s doing great with all the walking.  Ravenna seems like a very cute little old town with a nice shopping area.  Our hotel is very centrally located.

After getting checked in and settled we went out for a late lunch.  We were told that piadina, essentially stuffed flat bread, is a specialty of Ravenna so that’s what we had.  While it as tasty, it didn’t agree with mom so we spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing in the room.

We didn’t go out to dinner (gave mom’s stomach a rest) and just stayed in.  You might have noticed I added categories to the blog!

Tomorrow . . . Byzantine mosaics!