Tourism: UNESCO mosaics, Dante and the museums
Eight UNESCO-listed Early Christian monuments built in the 5th and 6th centuries, Dante's tomb with the perpetual reading of the Commedia and Casa Dante, MAR in the Loggetta Lombardesca, the National Museum in the cloisters of San Vitale and Classis Ravenna. Tourist information office at piazza San Francesco 7.
Sections: Attractions · Museums · Nature · Itineraries · Excursions · Accessible visits
- Basilica of San Vitale, consecrated in 548.
- Mausoleum of Galla Placidia, built around 425-450.
- Basilica of Sant'Apollinare Nuovo, commissioned by Theodoric, with its original mosaic decoration.
- Neonian (or Orthodox) Baptistery, an octagonal brick building, the oldest of Ravenna's monuments.
- Arian Baptistery, from the late 5th century.
- Archiepiscopal Chapel (of Sant'Andrea), private oratory of Bishop Peter II in Theodoric's time.
- Mausoleum of Theodoric, from 520, about one kilometre from the centre.
- Basilica of Sant'Apollinare in Classe, from the first half of the 6th century.
Dante
In front of Dante's tomb, on via Dante Alighieri, a canto of the Commedia is read every day (the Lettura Perpetua «L'ora che volge il disìo»). Next door, the Museo Dante collects the poet's iconography (busts, paintings, medals) and Casa Dante, a 14th-century noble residence facing the tomb, completes the route.
Museums
MAR – the City Art Museum is in the Loggetta Lombardesca complex, a former 16th-century monastery; the Archiepiscopal Museum holds the ivory throne of Maximian; the National Museum occupies the cloisters of the former Benedictine monastery of San Vitale; Classis Ravenna is the archaeological museum of the city and its territory; Palazzo Guiccioli on via Cavour houses the Byron Museum and the Risorgimento Museum. For 2026 Ravenna is Italian Capital of the Sea. Information, opening hours and tickets at the tourist office in piazza San Francesco 7.
Sources
Updated: 2026-10-14
Updated: 2026-10-14
Updated: 2026-10-14
Updated: 2026-10-14
Updated: 2026-10-14
Reviewed: 10/23/2026 · by piero.avolio · rev. 1 · Period: → 2027-10-13
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