Octagonal plan church, founded by Giulianus Argentarius, commissioned by Bishop Ecclesius and consecrated by the Archbishop Maximian in 548. The Basilica of San Vitale is among the most important monuments of early Christian art in Italy, above all for the splendour of its mosaics.
The eastern influence, always presents in the architecture of Ravenna, has a dominant role here. No longer a basilica with nave and two aisles but a central octagonal plan, surmounted by a cupola and the whole supported on 8 pilasters and arches. The dome ceiling and the niches were decorated by frescoes painted in 1780 by Barozzi and Gandolfi of Bologna and Guarana of the Veneto. It should be Notesd that the floor is kept dry by pumps since it is below the level of the water table.
On entering the Basilica of San Vitale the eyes are drawn up to the lofty interior volume, the stupendous mosaic decorations of the apse, the large spaces and the baroque frescoes of the cupola. Perhaps it is due to this upward pull that one does not notice a small and lesser-known jewel. In the floor of the presbytery, right in front of the altar, a labyrinth is represented on one side of the octagonal floor. Small arrows start at the centre of the maze and lead along a winding route towards the centre of the basilica. In the early years of Christianity the maze was often a symbol of sin and the way to purification. Finding the way out of the maze was the act of rebirth.
Once the route through the maze in the floor of San Vitale has been followed, the eyes may be lifted towards the altar where the most beautiful mosaics of Christendom can be contemplated.
Address: Via Fiandrini Benedetto
Tel. 0544215193
Times
9.00 - 17.30 ticket office closes at 17.00
Every Sunday from Easter to October, from 10.30 to 11.30 am and during ceremonies, tourist visits are suspended.
Tariffs
Admission: Euro 7.50 (combined ticket including: S.Apollinare Nuovo, Neonian Baptistery, Archiepiscopal chapel, San Vitale, Mausoleum of Galla Placidia)
Reduced admission: Euro 6.50 (combined ticket ) for Organizations with special agreements and students and for groups escorted by Ravenna's authorized touristic guides.
Through rates: Theticket is only inclusive
Free of charge: Children up to 10 y.o., disabled people and escort, ecclesiastics, militaries, journalists (with document). For groups: 1 tour leader free every 20 payers. For schools: 1 teacher free every 15 payers.
from 01/03 to 15/06 Extra charge of euro 2,00 for combined ticket.
Booking for groupsis compulsory.
Free admission to the mausoleum only: children up to 5 years of age; group-leaders or bus drivers (1 every 20 paying visitors); disabled people certified; ecclesiastics, journalists and members of the military forces in possession of an official document stating their qualification. For school groups: 1 teacher free every 15 payers. For groups: 1 tour leader free every 20 payers.

The Basilica of Sant'Apollinare Nuovo was built in the 6th century originally as Theodoric's palatinate church. Perhaps the façade was originally closed by a four sided portico, but now it is preceded by a simple but harmonious 16th century marble portico. On the right side there is a cylindrical bell-tower of the 9th or 10th century, characteristic of the buildings of Ravenna.
From the ancient building we have the magnificent mosaics with the largest surface area which has come down to us from antiquity. The processions of Virgins and Martyrs represent one of the most typical examples of the Byzantine style.
Address: ViaDi Roma
Phone number: 0544 219518
Times
9.30 - 17.30 ticket office closes at 17.00
Tariffs
Admission: Euro 7.50 (combined ticket including: S.Apollinare Nuovo, Neonian Baptistery, Archiepiscopal chapel, San Vitale, Mausoleum of Galla Placidia)
Reduced admission: Euro 6.50 (combined ticket ) for Organizations with special agreements and students and for groups escorted by Ravenna's authorized touristic guides.
Through rates: The ticket is only inclusive
Free of charge: Children up to 10 y.o., disabled people and escort, ecclesiastics, militaries, journalists (with document). For groups: 1 tour leader free every 20 payers. For schools: 1 teacher free every 15 payers.
from 01/03 to 15/06 Extra charge of euro 2,00 for combined ticket.
Booking for groups is compulsory.
Free admission to the mausoleum only: children up to 5 years of age; group-leaders or bus drivers (1 every 20 paying visitors); disabled people certified; ecclesiastics, journalists and members of the military forces in possession of an official document stating their qualification. For school groups: 1 teacher free every 15 payers. For groups: 1 tour leader free every 20 payers

It was built by Giuliano Argentario on behalf of Archbishop Ursicinus during the first half of 6th century. It is one of the most perfect Basilicas in Ravenna. Besides its architectonic structure, it is well-known for its mosaics and marble sarcophagi of former archbishops along the side naves.
When the basilica of Sant'Apollinare in Classe was built 1500 years ago it was on the seashore. The imposing architecture of the basilica ground plan, which stands today in the country just outside Ravenna, was originally intended to stand on the Adriatic coast where it was built but which is now a few kilometres away. In fact it is right next to the Basilica that we find the extensive archaeological area of the ancient city of Classe, home of the Roman fleet.

Built as a private chapel during the reign of Theodoric, king of the Ostrogoths, by bishop Peter II the chapel, in the form of a cross, has a vestibule fully faced with marble on the lower part and with mosaic decoration on the upper. It is the only Orthodox monument built during the reign of Theodoric, when the predominant religion was Arian. The mosaic iconography is of great interest: the Glorification of Christ, whose figure dominates every part of the mosaic decoration, may be interpreted as an anti-Arian element and the representations of the Martyrs are a clear statement of orthodoxy.
The visitor to the narthex of the Chapel of Sant'Andrea is struck by the vigorous representation of Christ the warrior and the Latin poem which celebrates the splendour of the mosaic in its verses. On the wall to the left however, the mosaics depict an entire park full of small birds such as starlings, pheasants and ducklings, the fauna of the pinewoods of Ravenna which are reproduced here on these walls. Small and hidden in the decorations amid the menagerie, there is a small tender duckling with a strange feature. One foot is black and the other is red. What could the answer to the mystery of this duckling be?

The original 5th century church was dedicated to the Apostles, but nothing remains of the ancient construction which was completely rebuilt in the 10th and 11th century; in the same period the imposing square bell-tower was added. The church is characterised by very simple lines; the brick façade has a small mullioned window in the middle. Beneath the high altar, 5th century sarcophagus, clearly visible through a window, the 10th century crypt is of the "oratory" type supported by columns. On the floors, always full of water, there are fragments of mosaics of the original church of Neone: a rather unusual sight. In 1321 the funeral of Dante Alighieri, who was buried near the church, was certainly held here.

The ancient cathedral, known as the Basilica Ursiana, was built in the fifth century by Bishop Ursus and it had 5 naves supported by 56 columns. In the following centuries it was extensively modified and in 1733 it was rebuilt on a design by Giovanni Francesco Buonamici. The typical cylindrical bell-tower of the tenth century contrasts somewhat with the Baroque façade. Of the original building some remaining fragments are kept in the Archiepiscopal Museum. Kept inside are works of the early Christian period such as the marble ambo from the period of Bishop Agnello (557-570). There are also beautiful frescoes by Domenico and Andrea Barbiani (1751)

The most ancient of Ravenna monuments, at least with regard to when building began, it dates to the end of the 4th or the beginning of the 5th century. It is a simple octagonal plan brick building with four large niches spreading towards the exterior and with the doors buried (the original level is about three metres below the present one). The Baptistery was splendidly decorated with mosaics by bishop Neone in 450. Inside, besides very beautiful mosaic decoration of Hellenic-Roman influence, several stucco-works and marble parts remain. In the middle there is an octagonal font of Greek marble and porphyry, reworked in the 16th century, which still preserves some original fragments.
During a trip to Ravenna in the 1930s Carl Gustav Jung visited the Neonian baptistery and saw a mosaic in which Christ is shown holding out a hand to Peter who is about to drown. He discussed this at length with his travelling companion, reflecting together on its meaning, the expression of the archetypal idea of death and rebirth. It was only on his return to Zurich that, while trying to find a photograph of this mosaic, he realised that the image he had seen did not exist.
Jung wrote some beautiful pages in Ravenna in his Memories, Dreams and Reflections, recounting the strange experience in Ravenna as a moment in which the subconscious and conscious meet, when the physical eyes perceive a vision that is not real but nevertheless real in experience. The magic of the mosaics in Ravenna influenced even the father of psychoanalysis.
Address: Piazza Duomo - RA - Locality Ravenna
Phone number: 0544 215201
Times
9.00 - 17.30 ticket office closes at 17.00
Tariffs
Admission: Euro 7.50 (combined ticket including: S.Apollinare Nuovo, Neonian Baptistery, Archiepiscopal chapel, San Vitale, Mausoleum of Galla Placidia)
Reduced admission: Euro 6.50 (combined ticket ) for Organizations with special agreements and students and for groups escorted by Ravenna's authorized touristic guides.
Through rates: The ticket is only inclusive
Free of charge: Children up to 10 y.o., disabled people and escort, ecclesiastics, militaries, journalists (with document). For groups: 1 tour leader free every 20 payers. For schools: 1 teacher free every 15 payers.
from 01/03 to 15/06 Extra charge of euro 2,00 for combined ticket.
Booking for groups is compulsory.
Free admission to the mausoleum only: children up to 5 years of age; group-leaders or bus drivers (1 every 20 paying visitors); disabled people certified; ecclesiastics, journalists and members of the military forces in possession of an official document stating their qualification. For school groups: 1 teacher free every 15 payers. For groups: 1 tour leader free every 20 payers

Galla Placidia (386-452), the sister of Honorius, the Roman Emperor who moved the Capital of the western empire from Milan to Ravenna, built this little Latin cross plan Mausoleum around 425-450. It is famous today for the splendour of its mosaics. The exterior is very sober, contrasting with the magnificence of the interior decoration, the most ancient in Ravenna. Mosaics cover the walls of the vault, the lunettes and the cupola. The iconographic themes developed in the decorations represent the victory of life over death, in accordance with the funereal character of the building.
The atmosphere of the Mausoleum of Gall Placidia is undoubtedly magical. On entering the small building, constructed in the form of a Latin cross, the visitor is struck by the sudden change from daylight to a created nocturnal ambience. The countless stars of the cupola have made a profound impression on the imagination and sensitivity of visitors to Ravenna. It is said that Cole Porter, while on his honeymoon in our city at the end of the 1920s, was so impressed by the mood of the small mausoleum that he wrote his famous Night and Day while thinking of the starry sky of Galla Placidia

It was built by Theodoric himself in 520 as his tomb. Its structure, which is divided in two decagonal orders one above the other, is completely made of Istria stone. It is roofed with a single block of Istria stone of 10 metres diameter weighing 300 tons. A niche leads down to a room which was probably a chapel for funeral liturgies. A stair leads to the upper floor where there is a circular porphyry tub in which it is supposed that Theodoric was buried. His remains were removed during Byzantine rule.

In the small square of the church of the Holy Spirit, the former Arian cathedral, is the baptistery which was built about the end of the 5th century when Theodoric had consolidated his rule and the Arian cult was the official religion of the Court. The Arian religion was a heresy which got its name from its proponent, Arius. Nothing remains of the various decorations which certainly covered the walls. On the dome there is a beautiful mosaic depicting the baptism of Christ and the Twelve Apostles. The building, which has subsided about 2.25 metres into the ground, has an octagonal plan with four small external apses.
According to Arian doctrine, Christ was the son of God but retained His human nature. It was only through the rite of baptism that the divine nature of Christ became manifest. The mosaics of this baptistery celebrate the theology of baptism but the young Christ is not represented as coming from the east as instead in the Catholic baptistery ("light from true light, God from true God"). The Arian Christ of this baptistery is moving towards the east, becoming divine only at the moment of baptism. The Christ depicted in the cupola of the Arian baptistery is thus human, a young nude man immersed in water up to the hips but with the groin visible. The nudity of Christ is an affirmation of the Arian doctrine and thus of the human nature of Christ. The Arian heresy did not survive but in this baptistery the image of Christ nude is what remains.

It belongs to the group of 5th century monuments. It was built by Galla Placidia in fulfilment of a vow made during a storm at sea when, after the death of her brother Honorius, she returned to Ravenna from Constantinople with her son Valentinian III. In different periods various works were done on the church and in 1944 it was seriously damaged by air bombardment. Unfortunately the mosaics of the apse were lost; however, displayed on the inside walls there are some remaining fragments of the beautiful floor of 1213 which represented topics from the novels of the period, imaginary animals and heroes of the crusades.

The little temple, built in 1780 by the architect Camillo Morigia, contains the sarcophagus with the bones of Dante. The exterior is in Neo-classical style, and inside, above the sarcophagus, there is a 1483 relief by Pietro Lombardo depicting Dante at a reading desk. In the middle of the temple there is an 18th century lamp kept burning with oil from Tuscan olive trees which is donated annually by the municipality of Florence on the second Sunday of September. On the right a gate leads into the garden of the so-named Quadrarco di Braccioforte, beneath which there are two sarcophagi.

Rocca Brancaleone, built by the Venetians in 1457, was part of the city walls. It consists of two parts: the Rocca and the Citadel. The Rocca is a wide quadrilateral of 2180 square metres with four imposing circular towers at the corners, joined by wall curtains. The Citadel occupies an area of 14.000 square metres. It is surrounded by walls with a fortified door, two circular towers at the two corners and two semi-circular ones along the wall curtains.

The great façade, built in the 16th century, was modified by the architect Camillo Morigia in the second half of the 18th century. The inside, solemn and imposing, is divided into nave and two aisles with a very wide transept surmounted by a high cupola. In the left wing there is the marble bas-relief representing the Virgin Mary in an attitude of prayer, the so-called "Greek Madonna". Legend narrates that it arrived here miraculously from Constantinople.

Founded at the end of the 5th century, is in the middle of the town, and is rather lower than street level.
Over the centuries it underwent many modifcations and in the grounds surrounding it there a round 16th century bell-tower. The façade features a four sided portico with above it a beautiful marble two-light window.
The interior with a trussed ceiling has a nave and two aisles and contains Corinthian capitals of the 6th century. Very interesting are an ancient sarcophagus that contains the ashes of San Giorgio Martire and of the Archbishop Agnellus. The painting above the altar representing Sant'Agata is by Luca Longhi