Ravenna

Ravenna

This historic city boasts UNESCO-listed monuments with stunning mosaics, showcasing Roman and Byzantine heritage, ideal for a serene cultural getaway.

Ravenna, once the last capital of the Western Roman Empire, remains one of Italy’s most rewarding historic cities and is still less visited than many of its better-known neighbours. Its UNESCO-listed monuments, including San Vitale, preserve some of the finest mosaics in the Mediterranean and offer a rare account of the city’s Roman and Byzantine past in the 5th and 6th centuries. The eastern influence is evident not only in the imagery but in the atmosphere of these interiors, where colour and symbolism retain their force. Today Ravenna is a quieter regional town with a gentle character and some notably good restaurants, well suited to a short break or as part of a longer itinerary with Bologna, Ferrara or Modena.