Ravenna does not compete with Rome or Florence for scale, but it has something no other city in Western Europe can match: eight UNESCO World Heritage Sites concentrated within a few kilometres, all dating from the 5th and 6th centuries and decorated with the finest Byzantine mosaics in the world. These were not built by Byzantine Greeks but by the imperial court of Ravenna itself, which served as the capital of the Western Roman Empire from 402 AD and later as the seat of the Byzantine Exarchate. The mosaics predate the great works in Istanbul’s Hagia Sophia and far surpass what survives in Venice. A day here resets your sense of what early medieval art could achieve.
Basilica di San Vitale
Start here. San Vitale (Via San Vitale 17) is the centrepiece of Ravenna’s UNESCO group and one of the most important surviving buildings from Late Antiquity. Construction began in 526 AD and the church was consecrated in 547 under Emperor Justinian — shortly after Ravenna passed from Ostrogothic to Byzantine control. The plan is octagonal, unusual in the Western tradition and derived from Byzantine precedents in Constantinople.
The mosaics in the presbytery and apse are what you come for. On the left wall, Emperor Justinian processes with his court and the Archbishop Maximian. On the right, Empress Theodora leads her own retinue. These are among the most studied images in all of art history — not just for their quality, but because they survive as the only authenticated contemporary portraits of two of the most consequential figures of the 6th century. The gold grounds shimmer in the morning light. The level of craftsmanship — the gradations of colour in the draperies, the subtle spatial depth achieved entirely without shadow — is extraordinary.
Entry is covered by the combined ticket (approximately €11.50 as of 2026), which also covers four other central UNESCO sites. Buy it at the entrance or online at ravennamosaici.it. Opening hours are daily 9:00–19:00 from March to October; shorter hours (10:00–17:00) apply November to February.
Mausoleo di Galla Placidia
Directly adjacent to San Vitale, this small cruciform mausoleum (c.425 AD) contains the oldest surviving mosaic cycle in Ravenna — predating San Vitale by a century. Galla Placidia was the sister of Emperor Honorius and one of the most powerful women in the late Western Roman Empire; whether she was actually buried here is disputed.
The interior is tiny, barely larger than a room, but the ceiling is covered entirely in deep ultramarine blue set with gold stars. At the far end, a lunette mosaic shows the Good Shepherd with his flock — calm, tender, and technically refined in a way that would have seemed astonishing in the 5th century. The blue vault overhead gives the space an atmospheric intensity unlike anything else in Ravenna.
Included in the combined ticket. From June to August the site operates on timed entry, and a reservation surcharge of approximately €2 applies on top of the combined ticket price. Book via ravennamosaici.it if visiting in summer.
Battistero Neoniano
The oldest standing monument in Ravenna (late 4th to early 5th century), the Neoniano Baptistery sits beside the Duomo on Piazza del Duomo. The Duomo itself was rebuilt in the 18th century and has no mosaics worth noting — the baptistery is the reason to come to this square.
The dome mosaic shows the Baptism of Christ in the centre, ringed by the Twelve Apostles processing in two groups. Below, a second ring depicts thrones and altars. The colour palette — deep blue-green and gold — is consistent with the other Ravenna sites but the scale of the dome and the complexity of the composition make it particularly impressive. Included in the combined ticket.
Basilica di Sant’Apollinare Nuovo
Built by Theodoric the Great around 504 AD when Ravenna was still under Ostrogothic rule, Sant’Apollinare Nuovo (Via di Roma) is distinguished by its mosaic programme running the full length of both nave walls — the longest continuous mosaic sequence in Ravenna.
On the left wall, 26 male martyrs process in a solemn line from the Palace of Theodoric towards Christ enthroned. On the right, 22 female virgins process from the Port of Classe (Ravenna’s ancient harbour) towards the Virgin and Child. Each figure in the processions is different, with subtly individualised faces and postures. The mosaics were partially altered after the Byzantine reconquest to remove images deemed too associated with Arian Christianity — look carefully at the upper registers for older mosaic fragments with different stylistic characteristics. Included in the combined ticket.
Mausoleo di Teodorico
The only major UNESCO site outside the compact historic centre, the Mausoleo di Teodorico (Via delle Industrie 14) is a 15-minute walk or a short cycle ride north. Built around 520 AD for Theodoric — the Ostrogothic king who made Ravenna his capital — it is unique in Ravenna for being a secular rather than Christian structure, and unusual for being constructed without mortar.
The most remarkable feature is the roof: a single slab of Istrian stone weighing approximately 300 tonnes, quarried in Croatia and somehow transported and lifted without Roman engineering. How the Ostrogoths achieved this remains unclear. Entry is free.
Basilica di Sant’Apollinare in Classe
The largest of the UNESCO sites, Sant’Apollinare in Classe sits 5km south of the city in what was once the Roman port of Classis — now flat farmland. The exterior is austere, the interior unrestored and atmospheric.
The apse mosaic is the reason to make the trip: a huge composition showing the Transfiguration, with Sant’Apollinare (Ravenna’s first bishop) standing beneath a jewelled cross surrounded by twelve sheep. The landscape below — trees, rocks, birds — is one of the most naturalistic passages in all of early medieval art. The scale of the apse, combined with the isolation of the site, makes this a more contemplative experience than the busier central churches.
Take bus line 4 from the city centre (approximately €1.30, 15 minutes). The combined ticket covers entry. The site is open daily.
Dante’s Tomb
Dante Alighieri died in Ravenna on 13 September 1321, having lived here in exile for the last years of his life while completing the Paradiso section of the Divine Comedy. The neoclassical tomb on Via Dante Alighieri is small and serene — a deliberate contrast to the grand cenotaph Florence eventually built in Santa Croce, which remains empty because Ravenna has always refused to return the remains. Free entry.
Getting Around
Ravenna’s five central UNESCO sites are all within comfortable walking distance of one another — the furthest is Battistero Neoniano, about 800 metres from San Vitale. The Mausoleo di Teodorico is a 15-minute walk or a short cycle. Bicycle rental is widely available along Via Cavour from approximately €5 per day, and the flat terrain makes cycling easy. Sant’Apollinare in Classe requires the bus or a longer cycle ride.
Allow a full day for Ravenna: San Vitale and Galla Placidia in the morning, the other three central sites before lunch, Teodorico and Dante’s Tomb in the afternoon, and Sant’Apollinare in Classe if time allows.
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