Ravenna Audio Tours

Ravenna served as the capital of the Western Roman Empire in its final decades, then of the Ostrogoth Kingdom, then of the Byzantine Exarchate, all before the year 800. Each ruler left extraordinary monuments, and eight of them have been recognized collectively as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The mosaics inside the Basilica of San Vitale and the Mausoleum of Galla Placidia, both from the 5th century, are among the finest surviving examples of late antique art anywhere in the world. Standing inside Galla Placidia's small mausoleum while afternoon light filters through the alabaster windows and the blue-gold ceiling glitters above you is one of the more memorable architectural experiences in Italy.

Dante Alighieri died in Ravenna in 1321, exiled from Florence and living under the protection of the Da Polenta lords.

He is buried here in a small neoclassical tomb near the Basilica of San Francesco, which itself has a partially flooded crypt where goldfish swim around the graves of early Christian bishops. Florence has repeatedly asked for Dante's remains; Ravenna has consistently refused. The city keeps his tomb illuminated with an oil flame, the oil donated annually by the Tuscan region as a somewhat ceremonial act of atonement.