Ravenna, Italy - Part 1

Ravenna is a city in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy. It is a city perfect for history-culture nerds like ourselves. Ravenna's claim to fame sits with its past life as the capital city of the Western Roman Empire, capital of the Kingdom of the Ostrogoths; then part of the Byzantine Empire and Kingdom of the Lombards.
Like many other cities that have been swapped over by different ruling cultures, the city is rich in monuments.For its size, it has an amazing 8 UNESCO listed sites - of which we managed to see 7 in a single day.



Travelling to Ravenna 
On Day 8 of our travels, we left Bologna central train station and caught the 12:52pm train to Ravenna. As we were only travelling within the same province, there was no need to pre-book the train tickets. We arrived in the center of Ravenna at lunchtime and immediately sought refuge from the mid-30 degree Italian summer heat by finding a cafe 'La Gardela' on the main street. And nothing helps to break the heat like a pint of cold German beer.

On our previous trip to Sardinia, we had eaten the best grilled eggplant dish - sliced pieces drizzled with olive oil and blackened under the heat. The dish we ate at this cafe didn't disappoint, and neither did the pasta - we were in Italy after all.

Grilled eggplant

Ragu tagliatelle

La Basilica Bed and Breakfast
In order to keep our accommodation costs down for the trip, we had pre-booked nights in highly rated bed and breakfast places that were either located in the historic quarter or near train stations. In Ravenna we stayed at La Basilica - a family run business right next door to the UNESCO heritage listed Basilica di San Vitale, unfortunately closed on the day we arrived due to filming of a documentary.

Lane-way to the Basilica that was next to our accommodation

Our host, was super-friendly and although she spoke very limited English, we managed to put primary school Italian lessons to use as she explained the tourist attractions of the town and made us feel very welcome. But before we could settle in and explore the town, we had to get our washing chores done.

* TRAVEL TIP * - For travel washing, invest in a portable clothes-line, pegs and even a bucket
Hand-washing clothes (usually in the shower or sink) becomes a necessary evil when travelling for extended periods of time. We managed to survive without the use of a paid laundry service until we reached South America by diligently using our creativity to hang clothes on cupboard spaces, tops of windows and creating clothes lines along the back of chairs. The inclusion of string and light wire pegs in our luggage were must-have items even though the hot summer weather dried our clothes quite quickly. Another useful piece of equipment (although initially written off by Olie as a gimmick) was a folding bucket - invaluable for doing mass amounts of washing.

Exploring Ravenna
We made it out to the streets of Ravenna in the late afternoon when the temperature had dropped significantly. The cobblestone laneways were lined with historic buildings that reflected a mixture of medieval, Renaissance and 18th century architecture styles with modern cafes inviting tourists to sit down for gelati or a cold drink.

Walking the paved streets of central Ravenna

Alleyways full of history

Visiting a phone store to buy Mei a new case (her phone had died the day we left London), we saw one of the many gelati stores (Sorbetteria degli Esarchi) nearby and thoroughly enjoyed the tart fruity flavours of lemon gelato. We then walked around the town and stumbled on a small shop selling piadina (flat bread sandwiches) with beer which made for a tasty light dinner.

From all directions - the buildings (churches, palaces, administrative centers) all wanted attention from our camera. Now, almost 9 months later it is a shame that we can no longer recall the names of these sites (without long hours cross-referencing against Google images) but we encourage our readers to visit this beautiful city.

As the sun began to set and feeling the need to burn some gelati induced calories, we walked from the main square - Piazza Del Popolo and headed in the direction of the Porta Serrata -  a historical city gate that dates back to at least the 13th century.

Porta Serrata

Brancaleone Fortress

The Brancaleone Fortress was built by the Venetians in 1457 as part of the city's defences towards the road that led to Venice. It is now used as a public park and outdoor entertainment area. It is surrounded by ruins of the fortress - an area of 2180 square meters. The center - Cittadella was once used to accommodate a garrison of soldiers and storage. 

Entrance to the Brancaleone Fortress

Winged lion of Venice

After a long day of exploring, we were glad to return to our Bed and Breakfast accommodation for a good night's rest - ready for Day 2 in Ravenna and a full day visiting the UNESCO listed sites.

Next blog post:

Ravenna, Italy - Part 2

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