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Ravenna

Tour to Ravenna


ONE DAY IN RAVENNA 
 

Monday Sept. 6, 2010
 

Ravenna is in the North-East plain of Emilia-Romagna, few kilometers far from the Adriatic sea. Its Byzantine mosaics and early Christian monuments are renown: UNESCO included eight of these monuments in the “World Heritage List”.
 
The origins of Ravenna date back to the lagoon settlements, which were first Etruscan and later Umbrian. The town became a Roman colony in the 2nd century B.C. and was chosen as capital of the Western Empire in 402, to become then a junction and a passage from the Byzantine to the Roman culture. In 493 Theodoricus establishes his court in Ravenna, promotes the drainage of the territory and the building of monuments that have become famous all over the world. The Battistero Neoniano (better known as Galla Placidia Mausoleum), the Basilica of Sant’Apollinare Nuovo, the Church of San Giovanni Evangelista, the Battistero degli Ariani, the Theodoricus Mausoleum.
 
During the government of Belisarius and Narsetes (VI century) Ravenna is a flourishing town: to this period belong the Church of San Vitale and  the Basilica of Sant’Apollinare in Classe.
In the Middle Ages the town faced a period of decay and isolation, ended in 1400 with the Venetian domination, when Ravenna regained its splendor. From the 16th century on, Ravenna was included into the Papal States, whose rule last for three centuries, followed by a new decline. The last stage of development took place in the second postwar period, with the discovery of methane field, which triggered the town’s social and economic development. In fact today a modern settlement is present around the town, towards the coastal village of Porto Corsini, made of a vast industrial area, which is active in the chemical and petrochemical production.
 
The cost, for at least 35 participants, is € 45, including bus travel, tickets to museums and a guide every 20 persons.
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