Tag: Ravenna

Visiting Ravenna: what to do with kids

640px-Ravenna_collagePhoto CC BY-SA 4.0 by Petar Milošević

Ravenna can be defined with certainty a treasure unknown to the majority of Italians. Overshadowed by the most famous Italian art cities (Florence, Rome, Venice, Naples) it is actually an extraordinary town that attracts tourists  and art lovers from all around the world.

Few know that Ravenna was three times the capital of three empires: the Roman Empire, of King Theodoric of the Goths and of the Byzantine Empire in Europe.

This past is witnessed by basilicas and baptisteries in Ravenna, where it is kept the richest heritage of mosaics dating from the fifth and sixth centuries. Few also know that Ravenna has eight monuments included in the World Heritage list of UNESCO and that the remains of Dante are kept here, and not in Florence.

  • In summer there are 35 kilometers of coastline. For nature lovers, a few kilometers away it is the Po Delta and the Valleys of Comacchio, in addition to the pine forests of Classe and San Vitale and the oasis of Punte Alberete. In short, if you were among those who did not know Ravenna, now you have no more excuses.

Visiting Ravenna, what to do if you have kids?

Bring the kids to Ravenna: as its multicolored mosaics, it can be a wonderful experience, not too away from the beaches, but also close to the imperial heart of this town, because the city is no shortage of things that can attract the curiosity of children.

While it is the mosaic  the true protagonist of Ravenna, the treasure that enchants young and old alike, nowdays as it did thousands of years ago, the city holds a few surprises that will delight children.
Today we will try therefore to provide a few tips for anyone who wants to build a day dedicated to children.
Obviously this is not an exhaustive itinerary but only some little advice based on our experience, hoping they can be useful for when you bring your children to Ravenna.

Mosaics Children

Of course we start from the mosaic! But we chose the one suitable for children. Tamo (Whole Adventure of Mosaic) and in fact a large exhibition center in the heart of Ravenna, which among many great appointments,  also offers workshops and initiatives for the fun and learning of most children.
The initiative is called Tamo for Kids and find more information at this link (www.tamoravenna.it)
The Little Museum of Dolls and Toys
The Little Museum of Dolls and Toys (www.museodellebambole.it) contains dolls and toys from various periods (1860 to 1950) made of different material, form and shape.
Inside there are also small children’s rooms, kitchens, shops, a sort of big “Doll House” that certainly will capture the interest of children.
The aquarium in a Church
In Ravenna, there is a church where, like an aquarium, you can see goldfishes swimming happy and alive.
Do you not believe us? Yet it’s true!  St. Francis Church crypt lies below sea level and the water invades it regularly made the chamber become…a small pool. Therefore under the altar you can see a small “bathtub” with a goldfish swimming blessed around ancient floor.
The children will be surely enchanted!
Marinoette in House of Puppets
The House of Puppets is a small museum by appointment that allows children to discover the magical world of marionettes, puppets and fire eaters.

Sundays from October to March is held at the space Almagia the Exhibition “The Art of the Puppet“, with performances with puppets, puppets and actors as well juggling, puppetry and art varies.
The Tomb of Dante and Dante Museum
The great poet rests in Ravenna in a small white mausoleum where shines the light of a votive lamp whose oil offered by the city.
The sections of the museum collect representations inspired by the work of Dante Alighieri and the kids can tell the story of a poet in love with a girl named Beatrice …

MAR (Art Museum of the City of Ravenna)
MAR (Art Museum of the City of Ravenna), in addition to the permanent collections of the Museum, offers workshops for children, with routes designed for different age groups of participants. For information please refer to the website: www.museocitta.ra.it
In short, there are many things you can do in Ravenna with the children, beyond the classic beach, or perhaps on their own in a rainy day, transforming it into a special day!
If, while you’re in the area, do not miss the amusement park Mirabilandia

What and where to eat in Ravenna

We tell you right away: Ravenna is not a place for those who are trying to get in shape. It is almost impossible to resist the abundant, fat, succulent and delicious  Romagnola cuisine.

It usually starts with cold cuts and squacquerone on piadina, continue with cappelletti and tagliatelle with meat sauce.

Then you can switch to meat, fish and seafood or guests of the abundant local channels, such as eels and frogs. You will end up with a sweet mascarpone and goes around with Albana, Sangiovese, Trebbiano.

Two good places to sample the local cuisine are Ca de Ven and Locanda del Melarancio in the city center. For a flat bread (piadina) on the fly there are the piadina of Melarancio always in the center and many other places to try with more or less pleasant results.

The secrets of Ravenna

Piazza del Popolo CC BY-NC-ND 2.0, Giovani Racca

Ravenna,  one of the candidate cities for the title of European Capital of Culture for the year 2019, is a town that has so much history and so much art to be discovered, as it is a city that reveals its secrets gradually. Only a careful examination may lead to the discovery of treasures that are truly unique, and not just in Europe.

Historical background
Ravenna, probably inhabited by the Umbrians and Etruscans later, starts its records from the second century BC, when much of the Po Valley was colonized by Rome and, consequently, Ravenna became a Roman city.
In the first century Caesar Augustus chose Ravenna as the headquarters of the fleet in the eastern Mediterranean. He built the great Port of Classe.
The most important period of the history of Ravenna began in 402, when it became the capital of the west. Honorius moved his court to Ravenna and in 476 the Roman Empire in the west end and the barbarian king Odoacer assumed the title of King of Italy and Ravenna again were chosen as the venue.
Ravenna in 493 was occupied by Theodoric, who, for more than 30 years, ruled the city with wisdom; he restored the aqueduct of Trajan and undertook great works of reclamation.
Because of the Arian cult, he built churches for its population (the present Church of the Holy Spirit, near the Baptistery of the Arians and the Church of S. Apollinare Nuovo). In 540 Ravenna became Byzantine when the army commanded by Belisarius entered the city, which,  under the influence of Justinian experienced a new period of great splendour.
Followed centuries of ups and downs, the struggles between the feudal period, the domain of the archbishops, the erection of a free commune, the power of the various Lordships. In 1431 the city was under the rule of the Republic of Venice until the beginning of 1500, when the whole Romagna became part of the Papal Government and Ravenna was reduced to the status of an outlying village, devoid of their own culture.

Highlights
Only in recent years there has been a turnaround: the factories have been developed, the art has regained force and especially the mosaics are back to being the pride of the city, known throughout the world thanks to them.

Piazza del Popolo 0 is the heart of the city and it was built by the Venetians about 150. From the small station, walking  straight down Viale Farini to Piazza del Popolo. Most sights are within a few minutes’ walk of Piazza del Popolo.
The Mausoleum, definitely wanted by the same Theodoric in 520, was built in the place formerly used at the cemetery of the Goths. It is built with large blocks of Istrian stone, squared and well-connected securely to dry, but bound inside by iron clamps. The side is marked by impressive round-arched niches and proportions and shape. Through a niche you go that leads inside a room in the shape of a cross, illuminated slightly by 6 windows, perhaps a chapel to conduct the funeral service or a burial chamber where the sarcophagus would have to take place for the family.
The upper floor is always smaller decagonal niches repeated emphasis on the reason of the porch; above the door is a circular shape, starting with a marble frame ends with an ornamental leaves whose remarkable frieze is called the “pincer”. The Battistero degli Ortodossi was built in the late fourth to early fifth centuries and is the oldest of Ravenna’s monument with many incredible mosaics which decorate the dome.

Ravenna is also the city where the remains of the Italian poet Dante. He is a dedicated area of ​​the city, just call Dante area, rearranged in the years 1933 – 1936. It includes a complex of interesting monuments, made even more famous by the presence of the remains of Dante, who was buried under a porch outside of the nearby church of St. Francis. Only in 1483, Bernardo Bembo, captain and mayor of Ravenna  commissioned Pietro Lombardo to beautify the tomb. The current temple in sober neoclassical style is the Cardinal Legate Luigi Valenti Gonzaga’s desire, who entrusted the work to the architect Camillo Morigia in 1780. The interior is well covered in marble and keeps the urn with the bones of Dante, had it made in 1483 by Bernardo Bembo.
Not far from the tomb, stands the Museum of Dante. It is accessed by an external staircase in the back of the tomb. It was settled in 1921, when it was donated by the municipalities of Italy also the bell placed over the outside staircase.

Ravenna’s two most important sights, Basilica di San Vitale and the Mausoleum of Galla Placidia, are two blocks away down Via San Vitale. The Mausoleum of Galla Placidia, is just across the courtyard from the basilica. A  little mausoleum but with the oldest  mosaics in Ravenna: Jesus the Good Shepherd, Mark’s lion, Luke’s ox, John’s eagle, the golden cross are tresures from a early Christian era. The Basilica di San Vitale is one of Italy’s most important monuments of early Christian art with an elegant cupola and stunning 6th century mosaics in its apse:  the scenes of apostles, the lamb on the twinkly ceiling, the beardless Christ, and Emperor Justinian and his wife Theodora. The Basilica di Sant’Apollinare Nuovo was originally a Palatine church. Byzantine style mosaics cover two walls reflecting both early-Catholic and Arian cult beliefs.

Interesting and suggestive is the church of San Francesco, whose crypt is often filled with sea water, being below sea level, it is not difficult to find even small fish that live permanently or4mai here, between the columns and the floor.Absolutely unmissable is the M.A.R., the Municipal Art Museum of Ravenna, which  includes a collection of contemporary mosaics, medieval and modern art, and temporary art exhibits.

The Basilica of Sant’Appolinare in Classe,  outside Ravenna and located  in the ancient Roman port of Classe is nearby the archaeological park. Its apse is decorated with mosaics and it holds the sarcophagi of former archbishops.

Ravenna is only  90 minute  from the main Venice–Florence train trail and  close to Bologna. So it is worthy a visit, also to taste its unforgettable piadina!