Last Day in Ravenna

Our last day in Ravenna started slowly, proceeded slowly and ended slowly. It was just the ticket. After breakfast, we made our way to the Mausoleum of Teodoric, built in 520 by Teodoric King of the Ostrogoths. It is a grand monument but bare on the inside. Decagonic in shape with two levels, the upper held Teodoric’s sarcophagus which sits there today, large, substantial and imposing. No-one today knows what the lower level was used for, perhaps a tomb for family members? There are no mosaics, no frescoes. The dome I understand is made from one piece of stone. And that, ladies and gentlemen was the sum total of our history tour today.

We then had a coffee back in town, walked around the shops for not a long time, then high-tailed it back to Casa Masoli to escape the heat and to give ourselves a really good down day. We read, we napped on and off, we looked at the newspapers, Chris drew some, and we generally just took the rest of the day off. It was very welcome for us both.

Tonight, we’ve been to the Mercato Coperta, the air-conditioned Covered Market to have dinner and drinks and a short passeggiata.

Ravenna has been kind to us. Although a brief visit, we have felt safe here, and we have been genuinely interested in the Byzantine history of this place. I like Ravenna. It has a nice feel. I am now about a quarter of the way through the new book I am reading, historian Mary Hollingsworth’s treatment of the Medici of Firenze, called the Medici. It’s written really well, and I am finding it interesting as I go, especially since I have been to some of the places that she mentions. I first heard of this book as one of the main sources of Tom and Dom when they covered the Medici period in The Rest is History podcast of which I am a great fan. I did not think then when I listened to those episodes that I would be reading Hollingsworth. Cosimo the Elder is making his appearance after about two hundred years of earlier Medicis as a young man. Lots of fun.

Tomorrow is a travel day. My glass half full temperament says it should go smoothly. Tomorrow morning, we say farewell to Anna and her wonderful guesthouse Casa Masoli and head to our final destination in Italy, Bologna.Read more