Geoff Brock & Bruce Gamble
         
     
   
 
 
 

A day trip from Bologna to
Ravenna and Dozza
Wednesday, 15th May 2019
 

We had a slightly later start today than yesterday. Our guide and driver were only due to arrive at 9:00am, so we didn't have to get up quite so early. They were both on time. We were grateful to see that we had the same driver as yesterday (Fabio) because we felt very safe with him. We knew that we would be having a new guide today and, once again, we were very lucky. Maria turned out to be excellent and spoke very good English. Although she lives in Bologna, she went to university in Ravenna and knew everything there was to know about the city.

After a pleasant drive there, Fabio dropped us off in the centre of Ravenna. Maria bought tickets for all the places we would be visiting and then we began our walking tour. We were expecting to be amazed and we not disappointed!
 
 
Our first visit was to the Basilica of San Vitale.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Theodora's ladies in waiting
 
Justinian’s court
 
 
 
Walking past the Church of Santa Maria Maggiore...
 
... we went into the Mausoleum of Galla Placidia.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Next, a visit to the Neonian Baptistery.
 
 
 
 
Roman Baptismal Font
 
 
Piazza del Popolo
 
 
 
Basilica of San Francesco
 
 
The crypt can only viewed from above, through this narrow arch.
 
 
 
Dante's tomb
 
 
Quadrarco di Braccioforte
 
Franciscan cloisters
 
Theoderic's Palace (possibly)
 
 
Basilica di Sant'Apollinare Nuovo
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Basilica Spirito Santo (former Arian cathedral)
 
Arian Baptistery
 
 
 
 
After seeing all of these amazing sights, Maria suggested that we might like to have a light lunch before leaving the central part of Ravenna and rejoining our driver. We liked the idea! She suggested a restaurant serving a regional speciality called piadina, a thin flatbread served with a variety of fillings. She knew the place well from her university days and so we invited her to join us, which she did. The food was delicious.
 
 
 
 
Afterwards, we went to a nearby bar. Bruce and Maria had coffee, Geoff had a glass of wine.
 
Maria phoned our driver, who met us and drove us out of the centre of Ravenna to our next stop, The Basilica of Sant'Apollinare in Classe.
 
Statue of Emperor Augustus
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
The wine tasting was slightly disappointing. Perhaps it lost something in the translation as Maria had to interpret everything we were told, or perhaps it was the fact that the wines were all dispensed by using a token which Maria had purchased beforehand. It just didn't seem quite as good as we'd had at previous tastings.
 
 
After the tasting, we had a stroll through the streets of this unusual place. Some of the artwork was interesting, but there was almost nobody else about, so it felt a bit strange.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
After our visit to Dozza, we were driven back to our hotel in Bologna. We said goodbye to Maria, who informed us that Fabio would be driving us to Lucca in the morning. We were pleased about that. Looking at our route today, it had been yet another day where we had travelled quite some distance.
 
 
It had been another lovely day and there was one more treat to look forward to... a recommended restaurant, which more than lived up to our expectations!

 
 
 
 
I had to try the traditional bolognaisse, served with tagliatelle and not spaghetti, of course!
 
 
 
©Geoff Brock and Bruce Gamble