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Ravenna

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Ravenna's new city museum, located in an 1899 sugar-extraction plant just down the road from Basilica di Sant'Apollinare in Classe, welcomes you with its striking, mosiac-lined straircase entryway. Inside, small but well-done exhibits trace Ravenna's history in timeline fashion, with impressive ceramics, pottery, weaponry and mosaics, along with a brief multimedia presentation on the building's former use.

You wouldn't go out of your way to visit here, but if you are already in Classe for Basilica di Sant'Apollinare, it's a worthwhile introduction to the history of your surroundings.

Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

  • RAVENNA, ITALY - JULY 22, 2014: interior of the medieval church of Sant'Apollinare in Classe, built from 6th century.

    Basilica di Sant'Apollinare in Classe

    0.25 MILES

    This signature early Christian basilica, lighter than Ravenna's other churches, is situated 5km southeast of town in the former Roman port of Classe. Its…

  • ITALY - JULY 24: Mosaics in the apse vault, 538-545, Basilica of San Vitale (UNESCO World Heritage List, 1996), founded 526, Ravenna, Emilia-Romagna, Italy. (Photo by DeAgostini/Getty Images)

    Basilica di San Vitale

    3.47 MILES

    Sometimes, after weeks of strolling around dark Italian churches, you can lose your sense of wonder. Not here! The lucid mosaics that adorn the altar of…

  • Interior of the Basilica of St Apollinare Nuovo 481641456 Saint, Byzantine, Tourism, Building Exterior, Arcade, Basilica, Art, Mosaic, Arch, History, Ancient, New, Italian Culture, Famous Place, Italy, Europe, Church, Apollinare, emilia, Ravenna, Romagna, Apollinaris

    Basilica di Sant'Apollinare Nuovo

    3.03 MILES

    An old legend states that Pope Gregory the Great once ordered the Apollinare's mosaics to be blackened as they were distracting worshippers from prayer. A…

  • Brisighella (Ravenna, Emilia Romagna, Italy): the famous covered street known as via degli Asini or via del Borgo

    Via degli Asini

    25.45 MILES

    Hidden behind a colourful patchwork of warped homes, this low-slung, wood-beamed, delightfully uneven medieval walkway dates to 1290. It's unique in Italy…

  • dark blue Ceiling Mosaic of the galla placidia mausoleum. Built between 425 and 433, this small mausoleum adopts a cruciform plan, in Ravenna, Italy on November 4, 2012

    Mausoleo di Galla Placidia

    3.49 MILES

    In the same complex as Basilica di San Vitale, the small but equally incandescent Mausoleo di Galla Placidia was constructed for Galla Placidia, the half…

  • Tempio Malatestiano

    Tempio Malatestiano

    27.6 MILES

    Built originally in 13th-century Gothic style and dedicated to St Francis, Rimini's cathedral was radically transformed in the mid-1400s into a…

  • Rocca di Brisighella

    Rocca di Brisighella

    25.53 MILES

    Standing sentinel high above town on a gypsum hilltop, this medieval fortress, along with the Torre dell'Orologio and Santuario del Monticino on…

  • Museo della Città

    Museo della Città

    27.33 MILES

    This rambling museum is best known for its Roman section. Spread over several rooms, with excellent bilingual (Italian/English) signage, are finds from…

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Nearby Ravenna attractions

1. Basilica di Sant'Apollinare in Classe

0.25 MILES

This signature early Christian basilica, lighter than Ravenna's other churches, is situated 5km southeast of town in the former Roman port of Classe. Its…

2. Museo d'Arte della Città di Ravenna

2.81 MILES

Arranged in a converted 15th-century monastery abutting a public garden, Ravenna's permanent art collection is backed up by regular temporary expos. The…

3. Museo TAMO

3 MILES

This newer museum doubles-down on Ravenna's extraordinary history of mosaic work by chronicling 12 centuries of history, using technology and multimedia…

4. Basilica di Sant'Apollinare Nuovo

3.03 MILES

An old legend states that Pope Gregory the Great once ordered the Apollinare's mosaics to be blackened as they were distracting worshippers from prayer. A…

5. Tomba di Dante

3.09 MILES

A son of Florence, Italy's Sommo Poeta (supreme poet), Dante Alighieri, was expelled from the city of his birth in 1302 for political reasons and spent…

6. Museo Arcivescovile

3.15 MILES

A museum with a difference, this religious gem is on the 2nd floor of the Archiepiscopal Palace. It hides two not-to-be-missed exhibits: an exquisite…

7. Battistero Neoniano

3.19 MILES

Roman ruins aside, this is Ravenna's oldest intact building, constructed over the site of a former Roman bathing complex in the late 4th century. Built in…

8. Duomo

3.19 MILES

Consecrated in 1749, Ravenna's baroque cathedral was built atop the remains of a much earlier church. Artefacts from the original 5th-century cathedral…

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