The Best Sight in Ravenna, Emilia–Romagna

Background Illustration for Sights

A combination ticket (available at ticket offices of all included sights) admits you to four of Ravenna's important monuments: the Basilica di San Vitale, the Battistero Neoniano, the Museo Arcivescovile, and Sant'Apollinare Nuovo. The ticket also includes the Mausoleo di Galla Placidia between mid-June and February; a supplement is payable at other times. Start out early in the morning to avoid lines, and bear in mind that the months between March and mid-June are busy with school groups. A half day should suffice to walk the town; allow a half hour for the Mausoleo and the Basilica.

Classis Ravenna – Museo della Città e del Territorio

In Classe, a short distance outside Ravenna, this museum dazzlingly illustrates the history of Ravenna and its environs from the pre-Roman era to the Lombard conquest in AD 751. The museum occupies a refurbished sugar refinery, and with the help of multimedia presentations and panels in Italian and English, it chronicles the Roman, Ostrogoth, and Byzantine periods. Displays include bronze statuettes, stone sculptures, glassware, and mosaic fragments. A separate room summarizes the building's more recent history. It's an easy walk from Sant'Apollinare in Classe.  To get here from Ravenna, take Bus No. 4 from the station or the local train to Classe, or use the cycle path from the city center.