Ravenna Half-Day: Four UNESCO Monuments and the Tomb of Dante

Ravenna was capital of the Western Roman Empire for half a century, then of the Ostrogothic kingdom, then of the Byzantine Exarchate. That sequence of rulers left behind a concentration of 5th- and 6th-century mosaic art found nowhere else in the world. Eight of the city’s early Christian monuments are jointly listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. A half-day walking tour of four of them — plus the tomb of Dante — covers the essential Ravenna. The city is an easy day trip from Bologna, Venice or Ferrara. For full logistics and an overview of everything Ravenna offers, see our Ravenna overview guide. If you prefer to visit with a guide rather than on your own, see our Ravenna guided tour.

Mausoleum of Galla Placidia

Start here. Galla Placidia (AD 392–450) was the daughter of Emperor Theodosius I, ruled Ravenna as regent, and commissioned this small cruciform building as a dynastic mausoleum. From outside it looks modest and unremarkable. Step inside and the effect is overwhelming: every surface — walls, lunettes, barrel vaults, the ceiling of the central dome — is covered in mosaic, the oldest and most technically refined in the city. The UNESCO documentation describes these mosaics as “artistically perfect.” Crowds are managed by admitting small groups for five-minute windows; on a quiet day you can cycle through more than once. The mausoleum stands behind the Basilica of San Vitale and predates it by about a century.

Basilica of Sant’Apollinare Nuovo

Built by the Ostrogoth king Theodoric (AD 493–526) as his palace church, Sant’Apollinare Nuovo has some of the most readable mosaics in Ravenna: two long processions of martyrs and virgins advancing along the nave walls towards the altar, with the port of Classis and the palace of Theodoric depicted above them. The 26 scenes from the New Testament in the upper register are among the earliest surviving narrative cycles of the life of Christ. The current cylindrical bell tower dates to the 9th century; the marble porch replaced the original four-sided portico in the 16th century.

Basilica of San Vitale

San Vitale is the high point of the visit. Begun by Bishop Ecclesius and consecrated in AD 548, the octagonal building is not architecturally a basilica — the honorary title was granted by the Catholic Church in recognition of its historical importance. The mosaics in the apse and chancel represent the court of Emperor Justinian (r. 527–565) and his empress Theodora in full imperial regalia, facing each other across the altar. These are the finest preserved Byzantine mosaics outside Constantinople. The dome above is covered in frescoes added by Bolognese painters in a later century, creating an unusual overlay of Byzantine and Baroque. San Vitale was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1996.

Basilica of Saint Francis and the Tomb of Dante

The original church on this site was built in AD 450 by Bishop Neone; a larger structure replaced it in the 9th century. Dante Alighieri’s funeral took place here in 1321 — the poet had spent his last years in Ravenna after his exile from Florence, and the city kept his remains despite repeated Florentine requests for their return. His small neoclassical tomb stands in a garden alongside the basilica. The interior of Saint Francis was renovated in the 17th and 18th centuries; the crypt below the nave is permanently flooded by the water table and lit from below, an unexpected sight.

Piazza del Popolo

End the walk in the city’s main square, built by the Venetians during their period of rule and deliberately modelled on St Mark’s Square in Venice — two columns bearing statues of saints at one end, arcaded palaces on the sides. The piazza is ringed by bars and restaurants and bordered by mosaic workshops that sell original artwork. It is also the location of the Venetian administrative buildings, now the town hall. From here it is a short walk to the covered market for local food shopping. For a deeper guide to what you were looking at in each monument — the iconography, historical context, and what distinguishes each building — see the Ravenna mosaics site-by-site guide. For where to eat in the city, see our Ravenna food guide.

Dress code: trousers or skirts below the knee are required in all four churches. Shoulders must be covered. Comfortable walking shoes are recommended — the tour covers roughly 2 km on foot.