Travel Italy
The Piazza del Popolo.
A World of Mosaics
This small coastal city full of artistic treasures was once the ‘seat of empires’ By Tim Johnson
C
ertain destinations in italy are immediately recognizable, with a whole set of colorful and unmistakable images associated. Rome? The curve of the Colosseum, of course, dating back to the first century, plus the Spanish Steps, the flow of the Trevi Fountain, and the soaring dome of St. Peter’s in Vatican City. But Ravenna? It turns out, this small city on the east coast of the Italic Peninsula has plenty to offer, including truly spectacular mosaics and a rather surprising history. Plus, flamingos and herons, just over there in the wetlands fringing the edge of town. “This was a very safe place, with the sea on one side, and a big marsh on the other,” the guide said, pointing to the vibrant green spaces just off to the right of the bus. “And thus, this
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was once the seat of empires.” Set just inland from the Adriatic Sea, Ravenna is a vibrant city of about 150,000. I arrived on a cruise ship, the Viking Sky, with just a single day to explore. Leaving the ship and riding in from the port, the guide walked us back in history. Settlements uncovered in the area by archaeologists date all the way back to the 5th century B.C., when an ancient people known as the Umbrians built villages on hilltops across the region. Julius Caesar crossed the Rubicon near here, and Ravenna was made a federated town in the Roman Empire in A.D. 89. CENTURIES OF DEVELOPMENT and prosperity
followed under the Romans, the port both strategic militarily and a hub for trade with other wealthy places further east. Ravenna grew to a city of some 50,000, and in A.D. 402, Emperor Flavius Honorius made it the capital of the West-
Bologna airport Ravenna
ITALY Rome
From the Bologna airport, Ravenna is just about an hour away by car. Cured meats, cheeses, and piadina bread at Osteria Passatelli in Ravenna, Italy.
