Ravenna

Introducing Ravenna

Of the region’s artistic jewels none shines brighter than Ravenna’s early Christian and Byzantine mosaics. Described as a symphony of colour by Dante in his Divine Comedy, they date to Ravenna’s golden age as an early Christian centre.

Ravenna was an unimportant provincial city until 402, when Emperor Honorius moved his court here from Milan and made it capital of the Western Roman Empire. He chose Ravenna on the basis that the malarial swamps around the town would provide protection from barbarian invaders – and in fact, they did until 476 when the city fell to the Goths. The change in regime, however, did little to hinder Ravenna’s development and under Theodoric the Great it became one of the Mediterranean’s most glamorous cities.

Ravenna’s Byzantine heyday was still to come, however. In little more than 200 years, between the Byzantine arrival in 540 and the Lombard capture of the city in 752, the city grew into a glittering showcase for Byzantine art and culture.

More down-to-earth nowadays, it is still a refined and polished place. Less sophisticated are the seaside resorts that crowd the nearby Adriatic beaches.

Last updated: Feb 17, 2009