When I was tossing around ideas for this itinerary Ravenna was not really a priority but I had a few people (probably on sloweurope.com) say something like “if you’ve never seen the mosaics, go!”  so here we are.

After a simple breakfast in the b&b we set out to find the 5 places for which we had bought the combo ticket.  My enthusiasm for this scavenger hunt of UNESCO World Heritage churches was not high but when we finnaly entered the Basilica San Vitale, my eyes filled with tears.  How did they accomplish this mastery in the 5th century?  The colors, the images, the shapes and designs.  I was stunned.  Here are 2 shots of  border patterns that I loved:

The architectural shapes were also beautiful. The building is octagonal.

From there we went into the mausoleum which is a little jewel of Byzantium.

We walked across town passing through the Piazza Popolo where people were gathering for the Liberation Day festivities but it was getting warm and standing in the sun with a large crowd was not in the plan.  There were lots of men in full dress uniforms and then there was this guy:

The museum and duomo were next on our ticket.  They were also wonderful.

Then we passed this street art:

Feeling over stuffed with history and beauty we returned to the room for a while.

Lunch:  I was looking for a simple piadina.  We went to a cute place where we could get them and it was fine.

Now we were in search of the last spot on our ticket, the Basilica of Sant’Apollinare Nuovo which was actually built before the Byzantine rule but what’s a hundred years here or there when you’re talking sigle digit centuries.  While admiring the mosaics I notices there two nuns–clergy on their phones could be the making of a whole photo essay!

Back to our place for some card playing out on our terrace and naps and before we knew it it was time for our dinner reservation at Trattoria del Gallo.  Just a short walk for us, this place was founded in 1909 and has been a family run restaurant for 4 generations.  The food was very good.  Outstanding was the pasta dish: tagliatelli with Spugnole/morels and prosciutto—fantastic!  We also had a little artichoke flan app and veal cotoletto with sesame for an entree.  And the dessert was home made lemon sorbet with fresh fruit and a whole plate full of meringue cookies.  Sharing all of this worked and I wasn’t too too full at the end.

Well, we certainly got what we came for here in Ravenna.