Ravenna in half a day: Discover the Rich History, Culture, and Artful Mosaic Decorations
3.5
6 Ratings
Ravenna

A half-day excursion to Ravenna will acquaint you with its history and culture, showcasing the city’s bounty in architectural prowess and artistry. You’ll appreciate how its past interactions with diverse religions played a significant role in the design and ornamentation of the city’s mosaics and edifices.

Duration: 3 hours
Cancellation: 1 day learn more
Highlights
  • Basilica di Sant’Apollinare Nuovo - Our tour will start from the Church of Sant’ Apollinare Nuovo and after walking in Piazza Del Popolo the main square and Dante’s tomb area will end at the Basilica of San Vitale. (first half VI cent.). All the monuments involved in our tour are in the city centre – walking area where we can also also drink a good coffee!

Sant’Apollinare Nuovo (end V cent.) is in Via di Roma near the railway station.

This area is very quiet. The external of the church is very simple but inside you can find beautiful mosaics decorations of Justinianean age (Catholic) and the age of Theodoric (Arian faith) .

In fact this church has been defined the “church for two religions”: we will discover together why.

The king Theodoric in fact (454-526) of arian religion commissioned the building of this church at the end of V cent. Mosaics decorations got inspiration from the influence of the greek-roman taste and from Justinian mosaic taste . Consequently it is the most characteristic building concerning the ravennate byzantine art.

Mosaics decorations on the walls allow us to follow the evolution from the age of king Theodoric to Justinian one, an important melting port of different cultures and languages.

What's Included
  • Guided tour
What's Not Included
  • Lunch
  • Admission fees to monuments
Location
Basilica di Sant'Apollinare Nuovo
Via di Roma
Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Customer Ratings
3.5
(6 Ratings)
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1 star
Peg5110
Nov 2, 2023
Fantastic - Cinzia, our guide, was fantastic. She gave us so much information. Truly a great experience. We did get a crook in our necks from looking up so much...Haha!
Review provided by Viator
Mary_d
Oct 27, 2023
Ravenna a mosaic must! - Cinzia was an excellent and extremely knowledgeable guide. The architecture of all places visited were magnificent and the mosaics were spectacular! Cinzia’s thorough explanation of everything really made the difference the with the entire experience!
Review provided by Viator
Dmcauley922
Jan 3, 2023
Ravenna Romance & Knowledge - Cinzia Tittarelli is a fantastic tour guide for Ravenna. We had only one day in Ravenna and wanted to make the most of it. Cinzia met us at our hotel on time, spoke fluent english, purchased entry tickets in advance, and was extremely knowledgeable about everything Ravenna. She is the ultimate story teller to describe the history of Ravenna from its origins through today. Her great combination of romance, history, wealth, war, and art was terrific. She presented every mosaic we saw in a way we could understand and appreciate the beauty of every piece we saw. She also made suggestions on other sights we could enjoy on our own. Cinzia is highly recommended for the Best Tour Guide in Ravenna. January 2023
Review provided by Tripadvisor
290denac
Oct 4, 2021
Great tour - There seemed to have been a Trip Advisor platform problem on the booking, and as a result we had to be flexible about the time of our tour. That said, Cinzia Tittarelli gave us a great tour and was very knowledgeable about all the sites, and likely due to Trip Advisor's snafu, took us to an additional point of interest. I would not hesitate to book another tour with her, but am now a little reticent to book a tour only two days in advance.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
664dorotheak
Nov 7, 2023
Very annoying! - In the language description, Ms. Titarelli speaks several languages, including German. My husband and I therefore decided that this was worth €136.85 to us and that we would book a German tour with her. We booked and paid for a tour in German and had it confirmed by the organizer. Ms. Tittarelli then wrote to us that she would be giving the tour in English. When I asked directly, she just said "no problem". We traveled there especially and waited at the agreed location for 45 minutes. Until it turned out that "no problem" meant "I'm not coming" for her. That was very annoying. The agency refunded us the money very quickly and without any problems.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
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up to 15 guests
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May 2024
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