9:15am scheduled flight from Gatwick to Bologna. Transfer by coach to Ravenna (60 minutes) and check into our centrally located hotel. Dinner will be in a local restaurant on each night of our tour.

 

Our first visit is to the church of San Vitale, the most precious example of Byzantine art extant in western Europe. We will see the marbles, capitals and mosaics which include depictions of the retinues, of the Emperor Justinian and Theodora. Nearby, is the Mausoleum of Galla Placidia, erected by the sister of the Emperor Honorius in the 5th century A.D., a small cruciform building which contains the earliest wall mosaics in Ravenna. After visiting the Mausoleum we walk to the Arian Baptistery, with fine mosaics of the Baptism of Christ in the dome. This afternoon, we visit the Basilica of Sant’ Apollinare Nuovo, originally the palatine church of the Emperor Theodoric. Its wall mosaics, including the ceremonial procession of martyrs and female saints, rank among the largest to have come down to us from antiquity.

This morning we drive to Classe, the ancient port just to the east of Ravenna, now inland, to the splendid Basilica of Sant’ Apollinare in Classe with its magnificent mosaics. It was consecrated by Archbishop Maximillian in 549 A.D. We also visit the Mausoleum of Theodoric, begun by the great Ostrogoth himself. Then on to the Renaissance town of Ferrara (40 miles). After visiting the Cathedral there will be the opportunity to explore the town individually before returning to Ravenna.

Today we drive to the city of Urbino in the mountains of the Marche region, sometimes called the ‘ideal city of the Renaissance’, thanks to the work of one of its greatest lords, Frederico da Montefeltro, Piero della Francesco’s patron. Frederico was very much a prince of his times and was a student of the classics and the new humanities, and the library that he assembled was one of the finest of his day. His intellectual interests led him to redesign much of his city and his palace, which is a triumph of the Renaissance and is a very fitting home for his art collection, which now forms part of the Galleria Nazionale della Marche. The star of this exhibition is Piero’s ‘Flagellation’ (1445) and there is also his ‘Madonna of Senigallia’ (1470s). The authorship of the ‘Citta Ideale’ is not certain, it could be Piero or perhaps Laurana but what is not in doubt is its fascination and great interest as a testament to Renaissance thought. A guided walking tour will not only include this outstanding art collection but a tour of the beautiful palace and some of the other sites of this city.

The morning will be free to shop or browse in Ravenna. Afternoon transfer to Bologna for our return fight, arriving Gatwick at 7:50pm.