# Essential Ravenna Travel Guide: What to See & Do

**Ravenna, Italy: A Living Gallery of Byzantine Mosaics**

Ravenna is one of Italy’s most distinctive cultural destinations, combining Roman history, Byzantine art, and literary heritage in a quietly atmospheric city. Once the capital of the Western Roman Empire and later a centre of Byzantine Italy, Ravenna preserves an extraordinary collection of early Christian monuments and shimmering mosaics.

## Early Christian Monuments and Byzantine Mosaics

Ravenna’s greatest treasures are part of the UNESCO-listed Early Christian Monuments of Ravenna. In landmarks such as the Basilica of San Vitale, the Basilica of Sant’Apollinare Nuovo, and the Mausoleum of Galla Placidia, tiny pieces of coloured glass create scenes of saints, rulers, biblical stories, and symbolic landscapes.

The Mausoleum of Galla Placidia is especially memorable for its deep-blue ceiling and starry decoration. At the Basilica of San Vitale, images of Emperor Justinian and Empress Theodora show how closely faith and imperial power were connected.

## More Historic Places to See in Ravenna

Ravenna offers much more than its celebrated mosaics. The Neon Baptistery, Arian Baptistery, Ravenna Cathedral, and Domus of the Stone Carpets reveal further layers of the city’s Roman, Gothic, and Byzantine past.

Ravenna’s former Adriatic port also played an important role in shaping the city’s importance over the centuries.

## Ravenna’s Literary and Cultural Heritage

Literature remains an important part of Ravenna’s character. Dante Alighieri’s tomb and museum commemorate the poet’s final years in the city, while Lord Byron’s time in Ravenna adds a romantic and artistic dimension to its cultural history.

Today, cafés, local cuisine, Via Cavour, and a lively arts scene give the historic centre an appealing everyday rhythm.

## Why Visit Ravenna?

For travellers wondering what to see in Ravenna, the city’s appeal lies in its rare combination of monumental history and intimate atmosphere. World-class art is woven into streets that remain relaxed, walkable, and unmistakably Italian.

## Walk Ravenna with Neywo

Neywo turns Ravenna into a self-guided audio tour. Stories arrive as you reach the place they belong to, and the route reshapes when you wander off it.

## More in Emilia-Romagna

- [Rimini](https://neywo.com/destinations/italy/emilia-romagna/rimini.md)
- [Bologna](https://neywo.com/destinations/italy/emilia-romagna/bologna.md)
- [Cesenatico](https://neywo.com/destinations/italy/emilia-romagna/cesenatico.md)
- [Ferrara](https://neywo.com/destinations/italy/emilia-romagna/ferrara.md)
- [Imola](https://neywo.com/destinations/italy/emilia-romagna/imola.md)
- [Maranello](https://neywo.com/destinations/italy/emilia-romagna/maranello.md)
- [Modena](https://neywo.com/destinations/italy/emilia-romagna/modena.md)
- [Parma](https://neywo.com/destinations/italy/emilia-romagna/parma.md)

## Elsewhere in Italy

- [Cividale del Friuli](https://neywo.com/destinations/italy/friuli-venezia-giulia/cividale-del-friuli.md) — Friuli-Venezia Giulia
- [Trieste](https://neywo.com/destinations/italy/friuli-venezia-giulia/trieste.md) — Friuli-Venezia Giulia
- [Udine](https://neywo.com/destinations/italy/friuli-venezia-giulia/udine.md) — Friuli-Venezia Giulia
- [Civitavecchia](https://neywo.com/destinations/italy/lazio/civitavecchia.md) — Lazio
- [Rome](https://neywo.com/destinations/italy/lazio/rome.md) — Lazio
- [Tivoli](https://neywo.com/destinations/italy/lazio/tivoli.md) — Lazio
- [Viterbo](https://neywo.com/destinations/italy/lazio/viterbo.md) — Lazio
- [Bordighera](https://neywo.com/destinations/italy/liguria/bordighera.md) — Liguria
- [Cinque Terre](https://neywo.com/destinations/italy/liguria/cinque-terre.md) — Liguria
- [Genoa](https://neywo.com/destinations/italy/liguria/genoa.md) — Liguria
- [La Spezia](https://neywo.com/destinations/italy/liguria/la-spezia.md) — Liguria
- [Levanto](https://neywo.com/destinations/italy/liguria/levanto.md) — Liguria

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