Some more pictures from our trip to Ravenna, before we headed to Bologna to rendezvous with Jean.
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| Basilica di San Vitale - "one of the most important surviving examples of Byzantine art and architecture in Europe" - Wikipedia |
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| The Byzantine octagonal plan gives an exotic eastern feel to the interior which is ornamented by wonderful mosaics ... |
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| ... The arresting mosaic of Teodora, queen of Emperor Justinian I, sometimes called "the last Roman" |
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| Fabulous mosaics in the nearby mausoleum of Galla Placidia (417 AD) who was Roman Empress for fourteen years. |
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| An inspired array of pot plants outside the duomo brightened up a day when the sun struggled to emerge from behind the clouds |
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| The oldest building in Ravenna, the octagonal Baptistry of Bishop Neone |
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Not mosaics, but frescos, adorn the vaulted ceilings of the restaurant Ca' de Ven
where we ate later. The ancient palazzo which houses it was used by Dante when he was banished from Florence for political reasons in 1318. |
So much history is still standing, unscarred by 'redevelopment'.
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