Side Trip: Ravenna. Friday, March 27.

YOU NEED TO GO TO RAVENNA. 
If you are at all interested in history, literature, or art; GO TO RAVENNA. 

It rained most of the day that we were there, but the rain was no match for all of the treasures that Ravenna holds. 

We were up before 6 am so that we could catch 7:04 am train to Ravenna. It was at the train station that we discovered a Lavazza espresso machine. For 80 cents, you could get a double espresso and it was delicious. Once we got to Ravenna, the rain was falling steadily and some of our crew were without umbrellas. I was glad for my umbrella and my boots. Wet feet are a misery when you are away from home.

Our first stop was the Instituzione Biblioteca Classense. Thom had arranged a tour for us, and I am so glad that he did. The collection includes 600,000 books. The works date back to the 15th & 16th centuries and deal with subjects from science to the arts to religious texts. There are several hundred works printed by Gutenberg, works by Aristophanes, and a large collection of works by Dante Alighieri. (Dante is also entombed in Ravenna)

In addition to the gorgeous library that houses all of these priceless works, we were treated to a viewing of an illuminated book of hours from the mid-to-late 1500s, a hand-written codex on parchment, a complete printed Divine Comedy with 2 intaglio prints, and a book belonging to Teresa Guiccioli bound in lavender velvet with a note in the margins at the rear of the book penned by Lord Byron in English. 

After our tour of the very old things, we were taken to see the new teen space: Biblioteca Holden, named for Holden Caulfield. We learned that teen services are new to Ravenna, and that the space has shortened hours so that the teens can be supervised. Like teens everywhere, they need boundaries. 

But wait! There's more!

As if the Biblioteca Classense wasn't enough beauty, we also went on a walking tour of the Unesco World Heritage Sites in Ravenna. Of which there are EIGHT. 
I took pictures, but the ones on the UNESCO site really allow you to see the details of the mosaics.

Having studied the mosaics in my undergrad art history courses, I was blown away to see them in person. They are gorgeous (I used that word a lot in Ravenna), and to imagine them lit by flickering candlelight made my heart skip a beat. Standing in places like that make me marvel at the ingenuity and creativity of the human race.