April 8: Ravenna Day 2

Today we saw more of the sites in Ravenna, then indulged ourselves in another visit to San VItale.

 

We started off today by hurrying to the Palace of Theodoric, as it is only open in the morning.  Ian was thrilled to discover that several very pretty lizards have made their home in the ancient brick walls.  

 We paid a brief visit to Santa Maria del Porta, and walked right by the Modern Art Gallery – even though I reminded Ian that “Modern” means anything after the Renaissance.  We walked through the “gardens” and through a park that held the remains of a Roman fort, before visiting the Mausoleum of Theodoric, across the railroad tracks.  Two of our guidebooks describe this as an “unpleasant walk”, but the sun was shining, the birds were singing, and everything was green and blooming.   

Our next stop was the Church of Santa Maria Maggiore, which is famous for the fresco of Mary of the tumours.  People who pray to this painting have their tumours healed, so we paid her a visit.

Next we visited the Domus Dei Tappeti di Pietra, or “House of the stone carpets”.  Like many other archeological finds in Ravenna, these amazing mosaics were discovered when people tried to build something new.  This was obviously a palace of some kind, since whoever made it had enough authority to build it right across a major road.   

We spent an hour or so wandering the streets of Ravenna and had rather forgettable pasta right in the Piazza Poppolo, then sprang for an expensive corkscrew so we could enjoy some San Genovese in our room.  We came back to our room and started planning for our drive tomorrow over the scenic route into the Alps.  

We decided that we really couldn’t leave Ravenna without seeing San Vitale one more time, so at 5:30, only an Hour before closing, we made the five minute walk back and purchased another combination ticket (you can’t by an entrance just to San Vitale).  I was a bit hesitant at the price (€9.50 each!) but Ian pointed out that this holiday cost a lot more than this!  I am so glad that we went back with an entire hour to just sit and soak up the atmosphere.  We got a picture of the two of us together, but were able to focus on being in the moment, and not worrying at all about taking pictures, or itineraries, or anything but beauty.  We still have one more church to see in the morning, in Classe.