Ravenna and Bologna
The second day of my weekend in Emilia-Romagna began with a quick breakfast at Bologna’s main train station. It was my first time eating a sfogliatella and I have to say, I really enjoyed the experience. We arrived in Ravenna a little after nine o’clock. As we soon realised, this was too late. Ravenna is a town where many attractions have a limited capacity and timed entrances. We spent the rest of the day trying to outrun the hordes of senior tour groups that had descended upon the city for the sunny weekend.
Nevertheless, Ravenna
was breathtaking. The city prospered in the fifth century as the seat of the
Roman Empire, and later as the capital of the Ostrogothic Kingdom. Many of the
most beautiful mosaics around Ravenna date to these two eras. They decorate
multiple churches, basilicas, and baptisteries, often occupying entire ceilings and
apses. Besides these, Ravenna is also famous for Dante’s Tomb and the Mausoleum
of Theodoric, the latter of which is only a short walk from the medieval
fortress Rocca Brancaleone.
We had little left to
see when we returned to Bologna, as we had traversed the city multiple times on
our journeys to the train station. Still, I wanted to see the Two Towers again,
as well as the Basilica of San Petronio. We also made a stop by the Basilica of
Santo Stefano, whose modest façade belies a shockingly extensive complex of
churches, crypts, and courtyards. We would also have been remiss not to try
some very stereotypical Italian specialties before I took my night bus back to
Geneva: pizza Siciliana and tiramisu.
I boarded my bus at
half past eleven and arrived in Geneva at half past eight. I made a mad dash
for the bus stop, bought a few pastries, and arrived at the office just as the
workday began. I will not lesson my sense of accomplishment by pointing out
that I had yet to dress up and brush my teeth.
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