Bologna and Ravenna

Friday morning we woke up 5 am to catch our flight to Bologna. Walking through the old part of Bari, there was a fair amount of people awake. One woman was sweeping her balcony, while another sat a table in the doorway making pasta. Our hostel in Bologna was not a hostel at all. It was actually a three-star hotel near the Bologna convention center. Because there are no trade shows in the summer, the place lowers their rates and lists on hostels.com. We were paying 14.50 euro each (per night) for a private room with air conditioning, maid service, our own bathroom and breakfast. It was like heaven, with BBC. We spent the afternoon snacking and lounging around the room. That evening we went into downtown Bologna and walked around the historic center. Bologna has two leaning towers, the Due Torri, which had been built between 1109 and 1119. We also walked by the Basilica di San Petronio whose façade is only partially finished. Passing the Fontana del Nettuno, we wandered down the more modern streets stopping to shop before heading back to the hotel. On the way back from the bus, we stopped into a Chinese grocery. We were actually staying in Bologna’s tiny Chinatown; there were a few groceries, along with a restaurant and a consular services office.

Bologna is a major train junction, which means that the train station is insane all the time. We went on Saturday to take a train to Ravenna, but wound up taking a train part way and then a bus. In Ravenna we went to the Basilica di Sant’Apollinare Nuovo. The entire length of the nave was decorated with mosaics. Most of the static white-robed figures were nearly identical, except for the three wise men, who had multi-colored tights on and were in motion. Next we continued on our mosaic tour. The Basilica di San Vitale was much more impressive with its apse which was covered in mosaics. The mosaic of Justinian, who commissioned all the mosaics, was here. It’s a piece I had studied in art history class in high school and I had forgotten it was in Ravenna. Attached to the basilica was the Mausoleo di Galla Placidia. Inside this dark, small space, more mosaics decorated the ceiling. St. Lawrence figured prominently in one corner, which the rest of the space was primarily floral designs. Across town we went to the Battistero Neoniano, a baptistery outside the Duomo (cathedral). This small space was light and airy. It’s mosaic work was on the dome and a lower frieze running around the building. I liked this work because of the brightness of the mosaics and the light entering through the windows.

After our mosaic tour, we went to Dante’s tomb. He actually wrote the Divine Comedy in Ravenna. His tomb wouldn’t have been that strange if it were in a cemetery. It would have fit right in at Pere Lachaise in Paris. In Ravenna, however, it was at the end of a road in the middle of other, normal-sized, buildings. After paying our respects, we headed to the grocery store, bought some dinner/snacks and then took the train back to Bologna.