Ravenna

 After arriving in Bologna late Friday night, we drove to Ravenna on Saturday morning for a visit. Even though Malcolm had lived here for many years and had been to the marina a number of times, he had not visited the town.
Ravenna is famous for its mosaics and the buildings that house them are Unesco-listed. We first went to Basilica Di Sant'Appolinare Nuovo which was built in the 5th and 6th centuries. The mosaics are from this time and are amazingly preserved and very beautiful. The are very detailed and large and take up the whole lengths of the south and north walls.

We then had lunch in a delightful enoteca where I got to taste piadina for the first time, which is a local type of flat bread. Delicious, I had mine with prosciutto and squacquerone cheese (an Italian fresh cream cheese).
After lunch we visited the Basilica Di San Vitale and a Mausoleum that was in  the same complex. They were also from the 6th century and although plain on the outside where both richly decorated with mosaics inside. 

 

The mosaics from the Mausoleum are the oldest in Ravenna: