Last minute package: vacation travel in Europe
Art, history and sea: an itinerary from Ravenna (Roman, Gothic and Byzantine capital) to the archeological area of Classe, where laid the largest naval basis of Roman times, through the delightful holiday resorts of the coast among pinewoods and golden beaches.
First a dip in the art then in the Adriatic sea. Ravenna is about a hundred kilometers far from Bologna: large squares and important sacred paleochristian monuments, from mausoleums to mosaics. They are so important that Unesco decided to include eight of them in the World Heritage List. And if you wish to link some relaxing moments under the sun, you can enjoy its popular holiday resorts.
Piazza del Popolo (People's Square) was built under the Venetian domination, it presents two series of Venetian columns, a Clock Tower and the embattled City Hall. Not far there is the first marvel: Basilica San Vitale, founded by Giuliano Argentario on order of the bishop Ecclesio, it was first sanctified in 548 by the archbishop Massimiano. Beautiful mosaics cover its presbitery and its abside with the typical stylized images of Byzantine art. Orient influences are visible in the octogonal plan and in the cupola frescoed in 1780 by the Bolognese Barozzi and Gandolfi and by the Venetian Guarana.
On our way to the Adriatic coast, rich in marvellous pinewoods which were sang by Dante and Byron, we stop in the oasis of Punte Alberete, a flooded wood where you can observe a marsh wild nature. Then we reach Marina Romea, one of the most elegant seasides of the whole area. It is a green oasis with a small port, riding stables, sporting equipments and lanes through the pines leading to the golden beach which is the largest of this coast.
Marina di Ravenna exists since about a hundred years and today it is a dynamic and trendy resort, with plenty of pubs and bathing settlements calling here young people from all over the region. Here you will see large avenues under the green, beautiful villas in the parks, hotels and restaurants where you can taste good fish cooked according to the still alive sailing tradition.
Adriatic sea and Ravenna: the city of mosaics in Italy