Delta del Po

THE MAUSOLEUM OF GALLA PLACIDIA

Added in 1996 to the list of Italian UNESCO World Heritage Sites, within the serial site entitled "Early Christian Monuments of Ravenna", this Mausoleum was built, according to tradition, by Galla Placidia herself, daughter of Theodosius, for herself, her husband Constantius III and her brother Honorius.

Inside are splendid mosaics, the most ancient in Ravenna, whose underlying theme is the victory of life over death, in accordance with the building's funerary purpose. The starry sky on the vault, however, is what amazes the visitor.

THE BASILICA OF SANT'APOLLINARE NUOVO

Founded as a place of Arian worship and consecrated in the 6th century to St Martin of Tours, the Basilica houses the largest cycle of mosaics in the world. According to tradition, in the 9th century the relics of St. Apollinare were moved here from the Basilica of Classe, and on that occasion it was given the name Sant'Apollinare, called "Nuovo" (New) to distinguish it from another church in the city bearing the same name. 

The walls of the central nave are extraordinarily important, divided into three distinct bands of mosaics: the highest band recounts the life of Christ, the central band Saints and Prophets and the lower band depicts the famous Palace of Theodoric.

THE BASILICA OF SANT'APOLLINARE IN CLASSE

Dedicated to St Apollinaris, the first bishop of Ravenna, on the site of his martyrdom and where some of his remains lie, the Basilica has been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1996, as part of the serial site entitled 'Early Christian Monuments of Ravenna'. It is the most imposing and majestic of the basilicas in Ravenna, especially for its cycle of mosaics, which defy those of the city's other churches in terms of beauty, with the extraordinary decoration of the apsidal basin dating back to around the mid-6th century.

Next to the Basilica are the excavations of the large archaeological area of the ancient city of Classe, seat of the Roman fleet in the Adriatic Sea.

DANTE'S TOMB

This is the neoclassical tomb of the great poet, erected in the Basilica of San Francesco in the centre of Ravenna. In fact, Dante lived the final years of his life in the city of Ravenna, dying there in 1321, and the Franciscan monks of the nearby convent jealously preserved Dante's bones for several centuries, opposing the will of sovereigns and popes to bring his remains back to Florence.

The tomb is a national monument and, in addition to the poet's tomb, the area also includes the garden with the Quadrarco and the Franciscan cloisters, which house the Dante Museum.