I woke up before the alarm this morning – because the room is a mini-suite I could get up, use the wash room and get on my iPad without bothering Aviva.

We cancelled tonight in Bologna – no one knows anything about a strike so we’ll go back to our original plan to train to Bologna tomorrow.

We started with a taxi ride to M.A.R., the local art museum. Nice collection but not a good catalog and no photos are a bad combination.

A horse sculpture outside the museum

People cleaning up the gardens outside the M. A. R.

Ticket for Museo d Arte Citta di Ravenna (back)

Ticket for Museo d Arte Citta di Ravenna (front)

Front of brochure for the show that was up

The facade of the M. A. R.

We walked over to Santa Maria in Porto.

One of the many marble tombs on the side walls

A chapel

A chapel

A reliquary – wonder what body part is inside…

The pulpet

The main altar

A grotesque detail

A grotesque detail

A grotesque detail

The facade of Santa Maria in Porto

I guess you shouldn’t touch that

A detail from one of the marble tombs

The ceiling over the altar

We took a quick look at the Palazzo di Teodorico, which is mostly a ruin with an exhibit of parts of the mosaic floors inside – you have to climb the intact tower (watch 0ut – the steps are not regularly spaced) and down the main hallway.

The intact tower – you climb the stairs to see the surviving mosaics

The tower on the other side is a ruin

A mosaic

A mosaic

The hall that runs the length of the palazzo

The front facade

Next we took a short walk down the street to the Basilica di Sant’Apolinare Nuovo; the mosaics running down both sides of the inner walls inside are fantastic!

Mosaics on the right side, facing the altar, nearest altar (4)

Mosaics on the right side, facing the altar (3)

Mosaics on the right side, facing the altar (2)

Mosaics on the right side, facing the altar, furthest from altar (1)

Mosaics on the left side, facing the altar, nearest to altar (4)

Mosaics on the left side, facing the altar (3)

Mosaics on the left side, facing the altar (2)

Mosaics on the left side, facing the altar, furthest from altar (1)

There were other details in the basilica that were quite interesting also.

Detail of saint from side wall

Detail of nun from side wall

A niche from the outer interior wall

Statue of the Madonna and Child

The facade of Basilica di Sant’Apolinare Nuovo

A niche with a statue of Christ

A ceiling of the chapel – I had to reach way in over the railing to get this shot

A detail from part of the ceiling

An interesting sculpture of angels on the wall

Another detail of the ceiling over the altar

Part of the ceiling of one side of the basilica

The altar

There are no restaurants in this part of town; Aviva noticed a place down a side street, Ristorante Pizzeria “Al Passatore,”and we ran into Canadians and Americans. And the TV was playing “The Simpsons” in Italian. The food was simple and good.

We walked over to Basilica S. Giovanni Evangelista; this church is bare bones, the inside was stripped after the bombing during World War II – on the walls are some details from the mosaics that survived.

I found this in the entryway to a shop that teaches mosaic techniques

A mosaic

A mosaic

A mosaic

A mosaic

The entrance – yes, that’s Aviva

A short walk further along was Battistero degli Ariani, which is a small baptistry outside Spirito Santo (which is closed). This is a UNESCO site (there are 8 in Ravenna and we saw 6 of them – the rest are on the edges of town) and for good reason – the ceiling mosaic is wonderful, one of the best I’ve seen.

The facade

The mosaic ceiling – live, it took my breath away

Our last stop was at S. Giovanni Battista; they seem to leave rosaries out for the poor to use for prayer.

Two of the rosaries left our for prayer

The pulpit

All the pews were painted

The facade of S. Giovanni Battista

A diorama – no, I don’t know what it’s about

A detail on the other wall

A detail on the wall

The hanging crucifix

Ceiling

We walked to Cavour to try to get Aviva some bandaids (I got temporarily lost for the second time in this trip…) – the farmicia was too far down, so she went back to the hotel and I hunted down an ATM. I grabbed a Coke Light and headed back to the room to shower before dinner.

We had a nice dinner at Ristorante Cappello, got a schedule of trains to Bologna, and crashed.

Card for Ristorante Cappello (back)

Card for Ristorante Cappello (front)

Aviva had the fish, it was very tasty and fresh

I had the beef – it was a little tough but very tasty

Location:Via Salara,Ravenna,Italy