A Day of Dance and Culture in Ravenna

Today's journey was on a crowded back road to the lovely town of Ravenna, near the Adriatic coast. Since it was Saturday, the autostrada was crowded so our driver chose to take us through small towns from Bologna.

Ravenna once had more than 200 churches, we learned from our beautiful raven-haired guide Paola Golinelli. Now there are far fewer but the round church of St. Vitale was particularly striking. The frescoes here date back to the sixth century, they are very detailed and show hundreds of colors way, way, up on the ceiling and the high walls. It was hard to believe these intricate designs, showing biblical tales and local gentry and clergy, still stand out so brightly. We craned our necks as Paola used a laser pointer to show how the bodies of the people were depicted, so unlike later mosaics which made people look stiff and one-dimensional.

Later we had lunch at the sunny caffe Grand Italia, and it was once again simple and delicious--small calimari stuffed with sun-dried tomatoes, parsely and breadcrumbs, a pasta with walnuts, clams, zucchini, and fresh tomatoes with mozzarella.

We had a date at the Alighieri Theater to see Matthew Bourne's Swan Lake. Based loosely on the classic of the same name, and using an allegory about the British Royal family, the wordless dance performance was remarkable...you can't believe how much acting and emoting you can do without saying anything. The hall was packed with dressed up young and old Ravennians, who loved the exciting show and applauded wildly at the end.