Current Time in Ravenna, Italy

Ravenna is a city in the Emilia-Romagna region of northeastern Italy, situated approximately 10 kilometers from the Adriatic coast on the Po Delta plain. With a population of approximately 160,000, it is the capital of the Province of Ravenna and one of the most historically significant cities in Italy. Ravenna's extraordinary importance derives from its role as a capital of the late Western Roman Empire, then of the Ostrogothic Kingdom, and then of the Byzantine Exarchate of Ravenna — three successive empires that each used the city as their administrative capital in Italy over a period of three centuries. The result is the most spectacular and concentrated collection of early Christian and Byzantine mosaics anywhere in the world, preserved in eight monuments that were collectively inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1996.

Ravenna's rise to political prominence began in 402 AD, when the Roman Emperor Honorius transferred the imperial capital of the Western Roman Empire from Milan to Ravenna — a city whose lagoon setting, access to the sea, and strong defenses made it easier to defend in the turbulent political conditions of the late empire. The Western Roman Empire fell in 476, and Ravenna became the capital of the Ostrogothic Kingdom under Theodoric the Great, who ruled from 493 to 526 and was one of the most capable rulers of the post-Roman period. After the Byzantine reconquest of Italy in 540, Ravenna became the capital of the Exarchate of Ravenna, the Byzantine administrative district in Italy, remaining under Byzantine control until the Lombard conquest of 751.

Each of these political regimes left behind extraordinary monuments. The Mausoleum of Galla Placidia, built around 430, is the oldest of the UNESCO monuments and contains the finest and most complete early Christian mosaics in existence: the deep blue vault of the central bay, studded with gold stars and figures of stunning color and quality, is one of the most overwhelming artistic experiences in Italy. The Basilica of San Vitale, completed in 547, contains the celebrated apse mosaics depicting the Emperor Justinian and Empress Theodora with their respective courts — among the most famous images in the history of art, their gold backgrounds and stylized figures establishing the visual language of Byzantine imperial art for centuries. The Battistero Neoniano, the Battistero degli Ariani, the Basilica of Sant'Apollinare Nuovo (decorated with processions of martyrs and virgins in the Theodoric style), the Mausoleum of Theodoric (a remarkable domed circular structure built in stone), and the Basilica of Sant'Apollinare in Classe — situated in the nearby port town of Classis — complete the UNESCO ensemble.

Ravenna is also the resting place of Dante Alighieri, the supreme poet of the Italian language and author of the Divine Comedy. Exiled from his native Florence, Dante spent the last years of his life in Ravenna, dying here in 1321. His tomb, a small neoclassical structure in the center of the city, is a place of pilgrimage for Italian literature lovers. Florence has repeatedly petitioned for the return of his remains; Ravenna has always refused. The Dante Museum and Study Center (Centro Dantesco) provides scholarly and educational resources related to the poet and his work.

The city also hosts one of Italy's leading summer theater festivals, the Ravenna Festival, an annual performing arts event with opera, classical music, ballet, and theatrical productions held in the city's historic venues including the Teatro Alighieri and the open-air setting of the Rocca Brancaleone, a fifteenth-century Venetian fortress. The nearby pine forest of Classe, celebrated by both Dante and Boccaccio, and the Adriatic beaches at Marina di Ravenna provide outdoor recreation close to the city.

Ravenna is connected by rail to Bologna, Rimini, and Ferrara and by road to the major cities of Emilia-Romagna. Its mosaics attract art historians, students, and culturally curious travelers from around the world — making it one of the most important art destinations in Italy and one of the places where the transition from the ancient to the medieval world can be understood most directly and most beautifully.