In less than an hour the comfortable E 45 leads to Ravenna sheltering the most beautiful mo-saics of gold in the world: the western and eastern Byzantine styles blended here. Ravenna can be seen at great distance thanks to its bell-towers made of red bricks and decorated by windows. The town is surrounded by the plane divided into fields that were once under the sea: the sea and the land together remind of Venice. The town is surrounded (north and south) by the Pine wood (Pineta) loved by Dante and Byron, and now a regional natural reserve. The Pineta and the Punta Alberete Oases - the only inundated forest in Italy - are included in the complex of the Delta del Po Regional Park.
Ravenna has many basilicas, scarcely decorated outside, but sheltering the most refined marble relives and invaluable museum collection: extraordinary masterpieces, full of suggestions, lights and incomparable colours made by the use of gold in mosaics. The Mausoleo di Galla Placidia has a small museum; the Basilica of St Vitale is one of the most amazing creations of Pa-leo-Christian art. The imposing Basilicas of St Apollinare Nuovo and St Apollinare in Classe are entirely covered by polychrome mosaics. Battistero degli Ariani and Neoniano are charming visits that cannot be missed.
Among many famous monuments (Dante's Grave, Mausoleo di Teodorico, etc.) the grave of Guidarello Guidarelli in the Accademia is particularly famous: the pale young man is so attractive that many women lean to kiss the marble.