Wednesday 24th April 2024 – Ravenna, Italy

We headed south to lower altitude and hoped for better weather. The first part of the journey took us down the pretty Brenta valley with cliffs towering on both sides. Skirting Padova was hassle-free and we were soon heading to the coast. Approaching Chioggia the road took us between a large area of wetland on the right and the sea on the left. There was a large, convenient lay-by and we pulled in to have lunch. In the distance to the left, we could see Venice until a rain shower over the city obscured it. On the right, we watched many distant flamingos and, closer, a large group of egrets. Very pleasant entertainment whilst we enjoyed our lunch.
I had found out that there was a camperstop (aire) in Ravenna from which a 10 minute walk took you into the centre of the city. The camperstop is very popular and, sensibly, the council has restricted stays to 24 hours. At €2.25 for 24 hours, it is incredibly good value. We arrived just after 4 pm and found a place to park. The spaces are very tight, with just enough space to open the habitation door and put down the steps. We pulled in our wing mirrors to ensure that the neighbours had room when the drove out and noticed that everyone else had done the same.
We wandered into the city centre passing at least five palazzo (very posh houses!) each with a plaque giving a potted history of the building. Arriving at the tourist information office we asked about the Ravenna Mosaics Pass (€12.50 ea) that gives entry into five of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites in the centre of the city and can be used over seven days. We were told that they had to be purchased at one of the sites and she suggested that Cappella di San Andrea, close to the tourist information office, was a good place to start. Given that they stay open until 19:00, we decided to visit two sites today and walked to San Andrea. Here we bought the passes and were told that we had to book a slot for two of the sites where numbers were limited due to the confined space in the buildings. One of these was the Battistero Neoniano, which is next to San Andrea and had availability now. We booked that and waked the few metres to it. We moved on to the Cappella di San Andrea, which is an interesting museum that also includes St. Andrea’s chapel, probably built in the early 6^th century and with beautiful mosaics.
Photos: A very impressive modern art installation on the edge of our camperstop car park in Piazza Della Resistenza; The mosaic ceiling in the Battistero Neoniano; The mosaic of Christ trampling on the serpent and the lion in Chapel of San Andrea.