Today was our full day in Ravenna - the small but very history-rich city full of mosaics and bicycles!
Ravenna was actually the capital of the Roman Empire in the 5th century and later also was the capital of the Ostrogoths, an important Byzantine center, and after that the capital of the Lombards! Thus, the city is full of Byzantine and late-Roman-era works of art and architecture.
For me, it was like being a kid in a candy store!!
For me, it was like being a kid in a candy store!!
So, in the morning, Tibby and I left our chilly room (we left the airconditioning on all night and our teeth were nearly chattering when we woke up. Good job us! Catching colds in mid-July in Italy....how horrible would that be) and headed out to catch a bus into the city center.
From there we took our little hotel-provided map and made our way over another bus stop where we tried to wait for a bus to take us to the main church on the tourist agenda - San Vitale.
However, we had to wait a bit for the next bus to come so we walked a few blocks down the street to grab something quick to eat. We ended up getting some really cute little custard-filled donuts from a little place called "The Sisters" where, I might add, we didn't speak any English to them to complete our order! Yay us!!
Once we finished and walked back to the bus, we had to wait again and by this time it was nearing on half an hour. Eventually we just decided to skip the whole thing and walk it. And I'm glad we did!
San Vitale was actually super close and it gave us a chance to get a taste of the city!
Ravenna definitely was cuter than Parma and I swear EVERYONE was riding a bike! Everywhere we looked tons of bikes were parked and I think I only saw 2 mopeds and some buses on the roads. Everything else was bikers!! And it wasn't just young, fit hipsters - it was old men and old women and parents with babies too! It was crazy.
Eventually we reached San Vitale and when we went in to buy tickets, we found that you could actually get a combined pass for only 9 euro that would give you access to 5 other museums/churches!
So, with passes in hand, we set off for the day of history!
San Vitale was BEAUTIFUL!! After studying only bits and pieces of the mosaics inside the church in my art history courses, it was such a privilege to see how those bits fit into the gorgeous, jaw-dropping whole.
The church itself is total Byzantine style and was begun in 527. The mosaics inside were created around the same time and depict not only Christian motifs, but images of the Byzantine Roman Emperor, Justinian and his wife, Theodora. They are sooooo beautiful!!!!!!!!!
And it was even better to have the church basically to ourselves. Ravenna was so quiet and there literally were only a few other groups - students and older couples mainly - who were wandering around like us.
All those other sweating, tired masses we were very glad to leave behind in Rome and Florence!!
I can't even imagine trying to fit into the next place we visited while simultaneously trying to fight off all those audio-guide-wearing crazies.
It was the Mausoleum of Galla-Placidia - the daughter of the Roman Emperor Theodosius I - and it is filled with gorgeous mosaics as well!! In fact, the mosaics in these are said to have inspired the songwriter, Cole Porter to pen his "Night and Day" in 1920!!
I too felt like composing a song to praise the artistry. Tibby and I were blown away by just how beautiful and intricate it all was!
Once we had to leave the mausoleum (people could only stay in 5 minutes for microbial-organism reasons....), we then left the mausoleum and made our way over to a restaurant nearby where we ordered lunch! Even though it took FOREVER for the food to come the place was really cute and family-owned and just had a good, casual vibe. Like the rest of Ravenna!
Oh and the food wasn't bad either ;D
Tibby got a fresh green salad and I got a dish of candied figs, soft cheese, and pita-like bread. So adventurous, I know! It was actually one of the most delicious things I've eaten for lunch. It was so different but so tasty!!
After lunch, we then made our way over the Basilica of Sant'Appollinare Nuovo. It was built in the 6th century by the Ostrogoth king, Theodoric and was rennovated and taken control of by subsequent Byzantine kings and later rulers. Though from the outside it doesn't look like much, but inside....well let's just say Tibby and I couldn't move for a second or two when we went in...
THOSE WALLS ARE ALL MOSAIC!!!
...the ceiling is made of painted wood but everything else is all mosaic!!!
...on each side were images of saints and evangelists...
The three wise men coming to praise Mary and Christ...
....look at that get-up!! Fabulous!
So, after sitting for quite a bit in the cool walls of the Cathedral and watching the sunlight shift as it moved over the gold and colored tiles, we finally made our way back outside and walked over to the next stop - the Museo Arcivescovile! The museum was very cool (actually it was really hot inside even with fans running...) but the pieces they had included some old funerary stele, some more mosaic pieces (including a full chapel that was equally as gorgeous as everything we had seen thus far! ...but we couldn't take pics), some eucharist and crucifix pieces, some other Catholic vestements, etc. Also, we saw this GORGEOUS ivory (throne which the museum is famous for) that was made during the Byzantine era (shocker!) for the Ravenna Archbishop, Mazimianus. Unfortunately, no pics allowed, but here's a Google image....
...beautiful, right?!!
So, once we finished gaping at the beautiful chair, we just took a few steps away from the museum and into a small courtyard where the simple-looking Baptistery of Neon....and no, there were no brilliant lights or colors emanating from the building....that was just the name of the Bishop who finished it in the 5th century. It supposedly is said to have been built originally in the 4th century and was even built on the remains of an old Roman bath! The floor itself is 3 meters deep and is as a whole, the oldest monument in Ravenna. Pretty awesome!! And inside was just as amazing....
...the baptismal pool
AMAZING!!!
So, after feeling adequately blow-away by all the mosaics and ancient architecture, we decided to make our way back to our hotel by bus. It was just supposed to take 20 minutes or so and we were hoping to catch up on our blogging and video postings....but that never happened....
Ladies and gentlemen, we spend 3 HOURS trying to get the freak back to our freaking hotel. freak.
It was so ridiculous. No bus seemed to be heading in the right direction and everytime we changed a bus and tried to confirm with the driver that we were heading back towards one end of town, we'd somehow find ourselves facing the complete opposite side!
...on the one hand though, we did randomly pass a grocery store and decided to just jump off and get some food so that was nice! But seriously, it was so exhausting and we have no both decided that we hate buses. period.
We are thus SO excited to be able to rent a car with Amanda (Tibby's elder sister who's coming to France to join in this adventure!!) for France!
Anyways, after finding ourselves nearing 8pm (when the Ravenna buses stop working), we decided to just get back to the main train station and again pay a few bucks to take a taxi.
5 minutes people - that's all it took to get us where we wanted to go!
So, since we were super hungry, we ate again at that pizza place from the night before and then literally crashed into our beds.
Just another day of our crazy, awesome, frustrating, amazing adventure!!!!
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