MONUMENTS
Name	Mausoleum of Galla Placidia
Localisation	Via Fiandrini
Description	The Mausoleum of Galla Placidia is one of the most important palaeo-Christian monuments actually preserved to the present in its structural integrity and in the completeness of its decorative apparatus. After the death of her brother the Emperor Honorius, the Augusta Galla Placidia became regent on behalf of her son Valentinian and took abode in Ravenna. During the second quarter of the V sec. A.D. she ordered the construction of a small mausoleum, perhaps destined to receive her burial, but never used for this purpose. Originally the building was constructed in connection with the church of Santa Croce and probably  was an oratory entitled to S. Lawrence. It is planned on a Latin cross on which the dome polls, included in a small quadrangular tower. The inside is animated by a rich decorative apparatus which is composed by marble coverings on the walls and mosaics on the ceiling. In the centre of the dome a gilded Latin cross is represented, edged by concentric stars on a blue background in imitation of a night time sky, while in the angles of the plumes the symbols of the four Evangelists appear. In the lunettes of the dome eight Apostles in four couples are represented, alternated by symbolic decorative motifs as doves that water and doves to the sides of a fountain. Also the lunettes of the transept are reserved to the symbolic image, alluding to the Salm 42, the thirsty bucks that approach to a puddle of water through a hurdle made out of acanthus leaves. At the end of the transept other four Apostles are represented in the lunettes. Among them we can identify the figure of San Lorenzo, the object of a particular devotion from the imperial family. Above the main portal stands the famous lunette characterised by the representation of the Good Shepherd, with Christ surrounded by his flock.
Further information	Admission upon payment (opening times: 1/11-28/2: 9.30-17.00; 1/3-31/3: 9.00-17.30;  1/4-30/9: 9.00-19.00; 1/10-31/10: 9.00-17.30). Cumulative ticket includes: St. Apollinaris-the- New, Neonian Baptistery, Archiepiscopal Museum, St. Vitale. Historical center, zone subject to traffic restrictions. Bus n. 10-11. Guarded parking lots nearby.
Name	St. Apollinaris-the- New
Localisation	Via di Roma, 35
Description	St. Apollinaris-the- New was built by Theodoric as a chapel of the Royal Palace and can probably be dated to the late V century or the first years of the following century. Erected next to the palace restored by the Goth king and probably used as a palatine basilica, the building can be considered as the most prestigious among the Aryan churches. After the Byzantine conquest and the emanation of Justinian’s edict (561), the temple was entitled to S. Martin, the archbishop of Tours, famous for his strong opposition to all heresies and particularly to the Arianism. The splendour of the gilded ceiling is also at the origin of the name by which the church is also known i.e. S. Martin of the Gilded Sky. According to tradition, the remains of St. Apollinaris, martyr and founder of the church of Ravenna, were brought here during the IX century. Consequently, to the initial title of the church it was added the dedication to St. Apollinaris, accompanied by the word "Nuovo-New" to distinguish it from the homonymous church located in the city. In the inside twenty-four columns made of Greek marble articulate the space into three naves that terminate at the centre with an semi-circular apse. The façade is preceded by a portico that during the XVI century replaced the previous narthex. The gilded lacunar ceiling dates back to the following century and the cylindrical bell tower, located  to the extreme right of the portico, to the X century. A rich decorative apparatus, composed of marble coverings and plasters, adorned the basilica before the works carried out during the XVI century. The surviving mosaics located on the walls of the nave are disposed in three bands in the space included between the arches and the ceiling: the Procession of the Martyrs and that of the Saints in the lower part; the stately figures of the prophets dressed in white suits between the windows, and the representation of the Miracles and episodes of the Passion of Christ. To the feet of the right wall the town of Ravenna is represented, from behind Theodoric’s palace. From here it starts the Procession of the 26 Martyrs on a gilded background, each one identified by his own name. The group directs toward the blessing Christ, on a throne, and surrounded by four archangels. On the left wall (in front of the Goth king’ s palace) the group of the women-Saints moves starting from the representation of the Civitas Classis. It was ordered by Agnello in substitution of previous figures. The procession directs toward the Madonna, at the opposite side of Christ.
Further information	Admission upon payment (opening times: 1/11-28/2: 10.00-17.00; 1/3-31/3: 9.30-17.30;  1/4-30/9: 9.00-19.00; 1/10-31/10: 9.30-17.30. Cumulative ticket including: Neonian Baptistery, Archiepiscopal Museum, St. Vitale, Mausoleum of Galla Placidia). Pedestrian area; reached by all buses. Parking lots nearby. Accessible to disabled persons.
Name	So-called Theodoric’s palace
Localisation	Via di Roma at the corner of Via Alberoni
Description	The ruins, located on via Roma next to the Basilica of St. Apollinaris-the- New, are traditionally known as “Theodoric’s palace”. They have an important façade characterised by a forepart with a portal and, on the top of it, a niche with an apse and a mullioned window. Two orders of twin arches (at the bottom) and blind arches with columns located on a corbel (at the top) articulate the space on the sides of the central elements. Actually the building does not coincide with the residence of the Goth king but with the façade of the church of St. Salvatore ai Calchi dating back to the High Middle Ages. Nevertheless some mosaics coming from the Ravenna palace complex dating back to the Late ancient period were excavated at the beginning of the XX century in the area of the Collegio dei Salesiani and are now displayed in the inner portico and in the small room located on the first floor. In the area of the Collegio dei Salesiani archaeological investigations have brought to light several phases of occupation and use, the last of which can probably been referred to Theodoric as also reported by ancient sources.
Further information	Free admission (Opening times : working-days 8.30-19.00). Historical centre, zone subject to traffic restrictions. Bus located near the train station.  Not accessible to disabled persons.
Name	Baptistery of the Cathedral or Neonian Baptistery
Localisation	P.zza Duomo
Description	The baptistery is located to the north of the present cathedral which was re-constructed during the second half of the XVIII century on the ancient Ursian basilica erected by bishop Orso in the first decades of the V cent. A.D. Although no detailed information is available concerning its foundation, it is likely that the baptistery was ordered by the same customer. In the period of bishop Neone (450‑475) the building underwent important restoration works, here including the dome and the inner decorative apparatus. The actual proportions are altered because of the interment of the area of about 3 mt. It is also known as Baptistery of the Orthodox, in opposition to that dedicated to the Arians and erected by Theodoric. It can be considered as unique due to the fact that it still bears its exact original lines both in its architecture and in the ornamental apparatus. Outside, the brick structure with an octagonal plan is marked by four semi-circular apses, while the upper band of the façades is underlined by double-arches windows. The fragment of a Roman marble sarcophagus, representing a rider holding the cross of Victory, is walled up inside one of the windows. The inner is characterised by two orders of arcades and a huge dome. It is decorated by a rich apparatus composed of precious marbles, by the mosaics that cover the lower part of the walls, the plasters of the middle part and the extraordinary mosaics of the dome. The latter are divided into three concentric bands, at the centre of which it is located the medallion  with the scene connected to the function of the building itself: John the Baptist gives the Baptism to Christ on the banks of the Jordan river. The following band represents the Apostles in two processions leaded by St. Peter and St. Paul. In the lower band, located in niches represented in perspective, a throne and an altar alternate, alluding to the Celestial City and the sovereignty of Christ. In the lower zone a group of arcades, representing animals alternating with scenes taken from the Old and the New Testament, enclose eight windows and sixteen niches decorated with plaster and containing the high-relief figures of the prophets dating back to the period of bishop Neone.
Further information	Admission upon payment (opening hours: 1/11-28/2: 10.00-17.00; 1/3-31/3: 9.30-17.30;  1/4-30/9: 9.00-19.00; 1/10-31/10: 9.00-17.30. Cumulative ticket including: St. Apollinaris-the- New, Archiepiscopal Museum, St. Vitale, Mausoleum of Galla Placidia. Historical centre, zone subject to traffic restrictions. It can be reached with all buses. Parking lots nearby. Accessible to disabled persons.
Name	Basilica of St. Vitale
Localisation	via Fiandrini
Description	The basilica, which was built with bricks according to a technique common to all the buildings of Justinian age, represents the most extraordinary monument of Ravenna. It is characterised by an octagonal plan articulated on two levels, the superior of which includes the dome. The monumental aspect of the inner along with the pureness of architectonic lines creates a suggestive balance between full and empty spaces which are exalted by the plays of light produced by the large windows as well as by the beautiful mosaics of Roman-ellenistic and Byzantine influence. The first historical notes on the construction of St. Vitale are reported in an epigraph  located in the nartex which attributes the promotion of the building to bishop Ecclesius (526). It was financed by Iulianus Argentarius and consecrated by Maximian (547 o 548). The church was erected upon a pre-existing building of the V century, built in the memory of the martyr Vitale and successively included in the new structure. The building was preceded by a large quadriporticus, transformed into a cloister in the X century. In the inner, eight large pilasters covered with Greek marbles are located under the dome, which represents one of the most significant architectonic elements of the church. The high and elegant columns are also remarkable. Those located on the ground floor are characterised, at the top, by capitals decorated with leaves of lotus, probably imported from Constantinople. The triumphal arch introducing to the presbytery is adorned with 15 medallions with the images of the twelve Apostles and those of St. Gervase  and St. Protase (sons of S. Vital). They all converge towards the central figure of Christ. The iconography of the walls of the presbytery draws inspiration from the episodes and personages of the Old Testament: Abraham’s sacrifice, Isaac’s birth, the sacrifice of Abel and of the priest Melchisedec. The cross vault is decorated with several motifs. These are interrupted by the representation of the mystic Lamb and by other figures alluding to eternal life. In the apse vault the figure of the Redeemer stands out. He is seated on a globe and flanked with two Archangels, St. Vitale dressed in military uniform and the bishop Ecclesio, represented in the act of offering the basilica. The apse basin is decorated with the two famous panels representing emperor Justinian and empress Theodora, accompanied by their retinues. Iulianus Argentarius and Maximian stand next to Justinian while Theodora is surrounded by the most beautiful and elegant fine ladies of the court of Byzantium.
Further information	Admission upon payment (Opening hours: 1/11-28/2: 9.30-17.00; 1/3-31/3: 9.00-17.30;  1/4-30/9: 9.00-19.00; 1/10-31/10: 9.00-17.30). Cumulative ticket including: St. Apollinaris-the- New, Neonian Baptistery, Archiepiscopal Museum, Mausoleum of Galla Placidia. Historical centre, zone subject to traffic restrictions. Buses n. 10-11. Parking lots nearby.
Name	Archiepiscopal Chapel or St. Andrew’s oratory
Localisation	Piazza Arcivescovado.
Description	It is the only orthodox monument erected under Theodoric’s reign, when Arianism was dominating. The chapel was built when Peter II was bishop (494-519). At the same time works were carrying out for the enlargement of the ancient episcope. It is a small building with a Greek cross plan. The vault is covered with mosaics representing the symbols of the four Evangelists and four angles holding a clypeus with the monogram of Christ. Under the arcades the decoration is realised by some medallions with the image of Christ, of the Apostles and some saints. The chapel is preceded by a rectangular vestibule covered with a barrel vault decorated with mosaics. Among the latter one represents the Redeemer while trampling a lion and a snake. The roof is adorned with floral motifs and birds on a golden background.
Further information	Admittance through the Archiepiscopal Museum.  Admission upon payment. Cumulative ticket including: St. Apollinaris-the- New, Neonian Baptistery, Archiepiscopal Museum, St. Vitale, Mausoleum of Galla Placidia. Historical centre, zone subject to traffic restrictions. It can be reached with all bases. Parking lots nearby. Accessible to disabled persons.
Name	Cathedral or  Ursian Basilica
Localisation	Piazza del Duomo
Description	The basilica was founded by bishop Orso in the V cent. A.D., originally as a building with five aisles. It was then provided with a cylindrical bell tower. In the first half of the  XVII cent. it was completely destroyed. Some works belonging to the palaeo-christian period, i.e. some sarcophagi and the marble ambo of bishop  Agnello (557-570), are still in the cathedral, while a few elements belonging to the original building are on display in the Archiepiscopal Museum.
Further information	Free admittance (Opening hours: working days 7.30-12.00 14.30-17.00; holidays 7.30 - 12.00; 15.30 - 19.15). Historical centre; buses and parking lots nearby.
Name	Basilica of the Holy Spirit
Localisation	Piazzetta degli Ariani
Description	Even if the exact period in which the Arian cathedral -  the Anastasis Gothorum -  was built is unknown, it certainly dates back to the age of Theodoric. Actually, it was almost certainly the first building erected by the Goth king after he conquered the town, in 493. He dedicated it to the Arian cult and consecrated it to the Lord’s Resurrection.  After the expulsion of the Goths, the church was dedicated to St. Theodor and then to the Holy Spirit. The original mosaic decorations are not preserved. After II World War the Basilica has been completely restored.
Further information	Admittance upon payment (Opening hours: working days 7.30-12.30 e 15.00-18.00, holidays 7.30-12.30 e 15.00-17.00, Cumulative ticket including: Neonian Baptistery, Chapel of St.Andrew, St. Vitale, Mausoleum of Galla Placidia). Historical centre, zone subject to traffic restrictions. Buses and parking lots nearby.
Name	Baptistery of the Arians
Localisation	vicolo degli Ariani
Description	Its construction, next to the Arian cathedral, was ordered by Theodoric. The baptistery was converted to the orthodox cult in 561 and transformed into an oratory dedicated to the Virgin. Its historical and monumental importance is due to the fact that it is the only baptistery of antiquity destined to the Arian cult which still bears its structural and decorative integrity.  It is made of bricks and has a small size, an octagonal plan and is interred of about 2,31 mt from the present street level. Outside, it is divided into two bands by a cornice. The upper zone hosts the dome and is underlined by some arched windows. The bottom is characterised by four small apses. In the dome, the mosaic decoration, which draws inspiration from the motifs of the Neonian baptistery, is still preserved. The central disk contains the scene of the Baptism of Christ. He is immerged up to the waist in the waters of the Jordan river standing side by side to an old man and to St. John the Baptist. In the following band the Apostles are divided into two different groups each of which leaded respectively by St. Peter and St. Paul, who are converging towards the throne. A purple pillow holding the cross studded with gems stands out on the throne. The central medallion, the throne and some of the Apostles go back to the period of Theodoric, while the other mosaics have been realised in the mid-VI cent.
Further information	Free admittance (Opening hours: working days and holidays 8.30-19,30). Pedestrian zone. Buses and parking lots nearby. Accessible to disabled people.
	Theodoric’s mausoleum
Localisation	via delle Industrie 14
Description	It dates back to the years after 520 A.D. As quoted by ancient sources, it was erected by Theodoric as his tomb, about one kilometre from the town centre, where the burial place of the Goths was located. The building is divided into two orders, both decagonal, and it is entirely built with square blocks of Arusina stone. A large monolithic stone (diameter 10 m, weight 300 tons) stands upon it. The lower order, characterised by a Greek cross plan, was probably used as a chapel for the funeral liturgies. The porphyry basin located in the upper room was probably used as a burial place for Theodoric himself, before his remains were removed during the Byzantine dominion.
Further information	Admittance upon payment (openign hours: working days and holidays 8.30-19.00; Cumulative ticket including: National Museum, Basilica of St. Apolinaris in Classe). Buses n. 2-8.  Coaches and car parking lots nearby. Not accessible to disable people.
Name	Basilica of St. Agathe Major
Localisation	Via Mazzini 46
Description	It was founded in the Late Ancient period and its construction was probably ordered by bishop John (477-494), as the historian from Ravenna Agnello suggests. The construction technique that characterises some elements of the basilica, among which the apse, is reminiscent of the typologies of buildings of Justinian age ordered by Iulianus Argentarius. The building was probably completed under the episcopate of Agnello (556-569), who served in this basilica as a deacon and was buried here. Even the mosaic decoration of the apse basin could date back to the same period. At present it has almost completely disappeared, due to an earthquake that took place in the XVII cent. The building has undergone several modifications, but it still preserves the original plan of the Late Ancient period. The use of re-employed materials (Roman and Byzantine capitals) re-proposes one of the typical characteristics of several other churches in Ravenna. Inside the building and in the surrounding grass area an interesting collection of lapidary materials is on display. It was recovered during restoration works and archaeological excavations (Roman, Byzantine, palaeo-Christian materials, plutei, sarcophagi and ambos).
Further information	Free admittance (Opening hours:  working days and holidays 9.00-12.00). Pedestrian zone. Coaches and car parking lots nearby. Not accessible to disable people
Name	Basilica of St. John the Evangelist
Localisation	via Carducci
Description	It belongs to a group of monuments dating back to the V century. It was erected by Galla Placidia following a vow made in Ravenna with her son Valentinian III, after a dangerous sea crossing. During II World War its façade and roof were devastated and the frescoes of the chapel went lost. It was restored in the following years.
Further information	Free admittance (Opening hours:  working days and holidays 7.30-12.00 e 15.00-19.00). Historical centre. Buses and parking lots nearby.
Name	Basilica of St. Mary Major
Localisation	via Galla Placidia
Description	The church was re-constructed in the second half of the XVII century with a baroque style but it dates back to the times of bishop Ecclesio (525 – 532). It was originally characterised by three aisles and an apse with mosaic decorations.
Further information	Free admittance. Historical centre. Pedestrian area. Buses and parking lots nearby.
Name	Church of the Holy Cross
Localisation	via Galla Placidia
Description	The area where the little deconsecrated building dedicated to the Holy Cross is now located, was occupied in ancient times by a church erected in the first half of the V century by Galla Placidia. At that time, the Mausoleum represented an appendix of the church to which it was connected even from a structural viewpoint. Archaeological investigations carried out on several occasions indicate that in the area that was previously occupied by a Roman domus, then abandoned, a new building was erected. It was characterised by a Latin cross plan and flanked with porticoes with columns and by polychrome mosaic pavements. The church was characterised by different phases of use and restoration and definitively abandoned in the XIV century.
Further information	Closed to the public. Pedestrian area. Buses and parking lots nearby.
Name	Basilica of  St. Francis
Localisation	Piazza S. Francesco
Description	The Basilica  Apostolorum  (today’s St. Francis) is among the buildings erected in the V century, during the Neonian period, even if restoration works carried out in the X and XI century have almost completely cancelled its original structure. Some fragments of mosaics belonging to the primitive church still survive. They come from the pavement of the crypt (also dating back to the X century) and are now located under the high altar. In the latter a sarcophagus of the V century has been re-used.
Further information	Free admittance (Opening hours:  working days and holidays 7.30-12.00 and 15.00-19.00). Historical centre. Buses and parking lots nearby.
Name	Domus  of the Stone Carpets
Localisation	Via Barbiani – Entrance from the Church of St. Euphemia
Description	The construction of an underground parking in via D’Azeglio was the occasion to explore - during the first years of 1990 - an urban sector in which several buildings had been erected with no solution of continuity from the II century B.C. up to present times, one superimposed to the other along a basolato (polygonal blocks road) street within the town network. This complex stratigraphy includes some evidence of Republican age, two domus respectively dating back to the Augustan and the Adrian period, the thermae, a building of the Late Ancient period (IV-VI cent.) characterised by a mosaic with the symbol of the Good Shepherd, a Byzantine palace with the extraordinary pavement mosaics after which the entire complex is named. It was the magnificent residence of a high rank personage of the Ravenna court, composed of 14 rooms and 2 courts, which was in use between the end of the V and the beginning of the VII century. The pavement mosaics are in a good state of preservation and they belong to the only private building of this period. They allow a connection with the most famous Byzantine monuments of Ravenna to be traced. Among them the mosaic located in room 10 emerges both for its dimension and its executive quality. It is a large room of about 100 sqm, at the centre of which the symbol of the Dance of the Geniuses of the Seasons is located. The archaeological complex ha been musealised on-site and is now accessible for the public: in the underground room the mosaics and the marble pavements of the Byzantine palace can be admired in their original position after restoration. The exhibition area can be reached through the small church of St. Eufemia, located just where another religious building - today considered as the most ancient of Ravenna and Emilia – had been formerly erected.
Further information	Admittance upon payment (Opening hours:  working days 10.00 - 16.30; holidays 10.00 - 18.30). Historical centre. Zone subject to traffic restrictions. Buses and parking lots nearby.
Name	Domus  of theTriclinium
Localisation	Church of St. Nicholaus – via Rondinelli
Description	It is a permanent exhibition dedicated to the Roman domus of Ravenna. The main evidence on display is represented by the reconstruction, at a real scale, of the original mosaic pavement of the domus (I cent. – beginning of the IV cent. A.D.) brought to light in the seat of the Banca Popolare. The dining room of the domus was identified for certain. It is characterised by a geometric mosaic pavement and the presence of a triclinium. The latter has given the name to the domus and constitutes the cue to present the habits of ancient Romans, the furnishings as well as the table and kitchen vessels, by the reconstruction of a banqueting-hall.  In order to complete the diachronical and historical background of the pavement decoration of the Ravenna domus during the Roman period, some mosaics coming from different excavations carried out in the city and in the suburbs are also on display, such as the most ancient polychrome mosaic of Ravenna (mid-I century B.C.) coming from the Domus of the Stone carpets and representing a scene of boxing and an opus sectile made of polychrome marbles from Theodoric’s palace, going back to the Augustan age.
Further information	Admittance upon payment (Opening hours:  working days 10.00 - 18.30; holidays: 10.00 - 18.30).