Ravenna, Day One

This is the evening of my first full day in Ravenna. I decided quite early on today that I would not take many videos, unless there was some kind of "action" involved. "Panorama" shots in video can be better done with a single photo. So, I have five video files and 329 photos. Maybe I can organize them on the train to Rome, and perhaps post some before I get back to GSBH. (For now, if you want pictures and info, I suggest searching for these places in Google or Wikipedia. It's worth the effort.)

So, what happened today. For one thing, the day was bright, beautiful, and neither too hot nor too cool. Thank you, Lord.

After a small but nice breakfast at the Hotel Argentario, I started walking north on the Via di Roma. Half a block from the hotel are the ruins of the "So-Called Palace of Theodoric." "So-Called" means they probably aren't. That's a long story for another time. I walked around, soaked in the history, took some pictures, and went on.

Next door is the Basilica of St. Apollinare Nuovo (I'm still less than a block from my hotel!), which was not yet open. Later.

I walked a few more blocks up (north) on Via di Roma (yes, you go south on this road far enough and you'll end up in Rome; at least that's the way it used to be), and came to the Church of the Holy Spirit, which at one time was the Arian Cathedral, and now is used as an Orthodox Church (I think), and more impotantly, the Arian Baptistery, with some fantactic mosaics.

From there I made my way to the complex of the Basilica of San Vitale, the Mausoleum of Galla Placidia, and the National Museum. The San Vitale was magnificent, and I spent lots of time and took a million pictures (well, not quite). (It seemed to me that the "standard" pictures you see in books or on the internet do not give context. A lot of those "professional" pictures are better than mine. But I think mine also give context.) The Mausolem of Gallia Placidia was poorly lighted and undergoing restoration -- my pix were not so good, and some really good stuff was covered up. The National Museum was, uhm, pretty "ho-hum."

Then I walked to the Orthodox Christian (as distinct from Arian) Baptistery, called "Neonian," which is attached to the present-day Cathedral. The Baptistery was open, the Cathedral was not.) More very ancient mosaics, and the time to contemplate them. (I'm going to have to write more sometime about the distinction between these two baptistries -- Arian and Neonian -- it's fascinating.)

A bit more wandering took me to the tomb of Dante. The poor guy was exiled from his native Florence to here because the Florentine elite didn't like him putting them all in hell in his "Divine Comedy." It seems they appreciated him here, probably because the Ravennese felt the same way he did.

By now it's mid-afternoon, and I decided to take in the Basilica of St. Apollonare Nouvo, about a hundred feet from my hotel. Breathtaking is the only word I can use -- as were San Vitale and Galla Placidia. Another million or so pictures, and the promise of more commentary to come.

Late afternoon. Nap at the hotel. Then a walk around the part of Ravenna on the other side of the train station and the innermost part of the port (remember it is a port city on the Adriatic coast) and the fifteenth-century fortress called the Rocca Brancaleone. Finally found a nice spot for dinner. Restaurants are fewer than I would have thought. And then back to my room to write this for you.

I'm glad and grateful that I decide to spend two full days here; one is definitely not enough.

Tomorrow the only major things left are the Mausoleum of Theodoric, which I past on my walk this evening, and the Basilica of St. Apollinare in Classe, which is a 5-km bus ride. God willing, it will be a good day with a relaxing finish.

Blessings and peace . . .