Piazza San Francesco, Ravenna

Marvel at the world-famous mosaics of Ravenna on a guided tour and learn all about their rich history. Enjoy tickets to 4 outstanding local landmarks and explore them in the company of an expert. Experience the best of the city in just one day with this insightful adventure. Starting from the convenient meeting point in Piazza San Francesco, journey through the streets of the city center with your guide to experience four incredible UNESCO World Heritage Sites: the Basilica of Sant'Apollinare Nuovo, the Mausoleum of Galla Placidia, the Basilica of San Vitale, the Neonian Baptistery. You will have the opportunity to visit: The Basilica of Sant'Apollinare Nuovo: originally used as a Palatine Church of Arianism, today it allows us to reconstruct the evolution of Byzantine wall mosaics from the age of Theodoric to that of Justinian. The Basilica of San Vitale: one of the most important monuments of early Christian art in Italy. When you enter the basilica, your gaze is captured by the high spaces, the wonderful mosaic decorations of the apse and the extraordinary representation of the imperial couple of Byzantium: Justinian and Theodora, with their procession. The Mausoleum of Galla Placidia: it was built around the middle of the 5th century, at the behest of Galla Placidia, who ruled the Western Roman Empire. The innumerable stars of the dome have struck the imagination and sensitivity of visitors over the centuries, and of outstanding personalities such as the great poet Dante Alighieri, who drew inspiration from them for the writing of some verses of the Divine Comedy. The Neonian Baptistery: one of the oldest monuments of the city, made of simple brick on the outside but rich in marble, stucco, and mosaics of clear Hellenistic-Roman influence inside. At the end of the tour the guide will accompany you to the entrance of the Archbishop’s Museum, so that you can visit it independently, each according to their interests and timing. Inside, in addition to many archaeological finds and works of art, is kept the last of the 5 UNESCO monuments included in the ticket, the Chapel of Saint Andrew, which with its depiction of the glorification of Christ is the only example of early Christian archiepiscopal chapel still intact to this day.

The site is of outstanding universal value being of remarkable significance by virtue of the supreme artistry of the mosaic art that the monuments contain, and also because of the crucial evidence that they provide of artistic and religious relationships and contacts at an important period of European cultural history. In this way the Unesco World Heritage motivated why eight monuments of Ravenna had been added to the World Heritage List. The eternal beauty of the mosaics guarded inside some of the most famous Ravenna Unesco monuments, Basilica of Sant'Apollinare Nuovo, Mausoleo di Galla Placidia, Basilica of San Vitale, Battistero Neoniano and Chapel of Sant'Andrea. The visit that starts from Piazza San Francesco, into the city centre, and leads you to several Unesco monuments.

On this full-day private tour of Ravenna, your guide will show you the most important treasures of the city that features 8 UNESCO World Heritage Sites. You'll explore some of its most important sites and admire the stunning mosaics all around you. The tour will take place for about 2.5-hours in the morning, then you can enjoy lunch (independently), after which you'll meet your guide again and continue the tour for another 2 to 2.5 hours. You will see the five main mosaics site in town, such as the Basilica of San Vitale, the Mausoleum of Galla Placidia, the Battistero Neoniano, the Arcivescovile Museum and the Basilica of Sant’Apollinare Nuovo. Your guide will then take you through the streets of the old town until you reach the picturesque Piazza del Popolo. You'll also explore the Dante area, or Area of Silence and get to see Dante's tomb. In fact, the famous exiled Florentine poet died in Ravenna on 13 September 1321. You'll see also Piazza San Francesco and the beautiful Basilica of San Francesco.