Ravenna: how to visit the Classis Museum and the Basilica of Sant'Apollinare in Classe
Ravenna: the Classis Museum and the Basilica of Sant'Apollinare in Classe. With a single ticket, visit two iconic places and discover the thousand-year history of a city where artists and writers, nobles and soldiers lived, and where today the great poet Dante rests.
Classis Museum and the Basilica of Sant'Apollinare in Classe: the tickets most chosen by travelers
In Ravenna, the Classis Museum and the Basilica of Sant'Apollinare in Classe tell the story of a city capital of three kingdoms
In Emilia Romagna, a handful of kilometers from the shores of the Adriatic, lies Ravenna, a city founded in the 5th century BC that has never ceased to amaze and fascinate throughout its two thousand four hundred years of life.
In Ravenna, the Classis Museum and the Basilica of Sant'Apollinare in Classe are the places you absolutely must visit to learn about this city with a long and complex history, its culture and its many treasures. An exhibition that goes from the Etruscan-Umbrian origins to the early Middle Ages tells the story of the first centuries of life, and of the rise of Ravenna in the Classis Museum. The Basilica of Sant'Apollinare in Classe, instead, offers what is perhaps the most extraordinary example of religious architecture in town.
Capital of the Western Roman Empire, then of the Kingdom of the Ostrogoths and finally of the Byzantine Exarchate, Ravenna has in fact been enriched over the centuries with monuments of inestimable value. Its glittering mosaics are famous throughout the world, and so are the churches that host them, while the museums offer a rich repertoire of works, testimonies or archaeological finds.
Even Dante Alighieri was fascinated by this place and decided to spend the last years of his life here, also dedicating himself to completing his Divina Commedia.
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Useful information for visiting the Classis Museum and Sant'Apollinare in Classe in Ravenna
The single ticket to visit the Classis Museum and Sant'Apollinare in Classe is the simplest and most economical solution for a full immersion in the culture and art of Ravenna. Here is some more information to enjoy the visit in total relax.
Opening hours and closing days: the Classis Museum is open every day from 10:00 to 17:00, with last admission at 16:10.
It closes on December 25th.
In the months of January and February, short closures for maintenance are possible, so it is advisable to check beforehand that the museum is open.
The Basilica of Sant'Apollinare in Classe can be visited from Monday to Saturday from 8:30 to 19:30; last admission is at 19:00.
On Sundays and during religious holidays the opening hours are 13:30 - 19:30 with last admission at 19:30.
Accessibility: both sites are fully accessible to disabled people.
Connections: Classe is a hamlet of Ravenna well connected by bus and cycle paths. It also has a FS train station.
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The museum and the basilica are about three hundred and fifty meters apart, easily walkable. In the hamlet of Classe there are parking lots, restaurants, hotels and shops.
If you are traveling with your furry friend, remember that animals on a leash are allowed in the Classis Museum but not in Sant'Apollinare in Classe.
During periods of great affluence such as the Christmas holidays or spring long weekends, it is definitely advisable to buy online the combined tickets for the Classis Museum and Sant'Apollinare in Classe.
Classis Museum and the Basilica of Sant'Apollinare in Classe: tips for your visit
Frequently asked questions about the Classis Museum and the Basilica of Sant'Apollinare in Classe in Ravenna
1. How to get to Sant'Apollinare in Classe from Ravenna?
The Basilica of Sant'Apollinare in Classe is located just outside the center. Bus line 176 arrives in just under twenty minutes.
2. How much does it cost to visit Sant'Apollinare in Classe?
The cost of the ticket for the visit to the Basilica of Sant'Apollinare in Classe alone is €5, but there are discounts for citizens of the European Union under the age of twenty-five.
3. How long does a visit to the Basilica of Sant'Apollinare in Classe last?
A visit to Sant'Apollinare in Classe lasts on average forty-five minutes.
4. Where is the Classis Museum?
The Classis Museum is located in Classe, just four kilometers from the center of Ravenna.
5. How much does a ticket for the Classis Museum cost?
The cost of a single full ticket is €8, with reductions for school groups and families.
6. What is in the Classis Museum?
The Classis Museum tells the story of Ravenna from the 5th century BC to the Early Middle Ages and contains both everyday objects such as amphorae and coins, and works of art such as mosaics and statues.
How to get to the Classis Museum and the Basilica of Sant'Apollinare in Classe
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Discover what to do in Ravenna like a local in 10 moves. Here are our suggestions for visiting the city of mosaics beyond the mosaics.
The mosaics of Ravenna
Ravenna is a small city with an immense artistic heritage but what immediately catches the eye is the quantity and quality of its wonderful mosaics. In fact, this city preserves the richest heritage of early Christian mosaics in the world. They all date back to the period from the 5th to the 6th century AD and can be admired in seven of the eight UNESCO monuments in the city. Sant'Apollinare in Classe, of course, is among them.
The technique is the artisanal one already known to the ancient Romans that the artists of Ravenna have been able to develop with a style that over the centuries has become unmistakable. Today the mosaics of Ravenna are not only magnificent to see, but are also a very interesting insight into the religious and political life of the city.
Furthermore, this rich tradition has not remained still over time and even now the mosaic in Ravenna is a living art thanks to the schools that are in the city and which are the most prestigious in the world.
The mosaics of Sant’Apollinare in Classe
The iconography is complex, full of characters taken from the sacred scriptures and abstract symbols much closer to Eastern Christianity than to the naturalism derived from classical art, protagonist of many other works present in Ravenna and equally magnificent.
The gold background in the upper part of the apse, the green behind the figure of Sant'Apollinare and the blue of the starry sky that forms the backdrop to the cross, convey an idea of magnificent serenity. The details of the landscape and the clothes are also further evidence of the very high technical level achieved by the artists who worked on this grandiose project.
What to see in the Classis Museum in Ravenna
Today, in the Classis museum dedicated to the city and the territory, visitors can admire archaeological and historical finds that retrace the various stages of the life of the city, from the Etruscan-Umbrian origins, through the Roman age, the Gothic phase, the Byzantine era, and finally the early Middle Ages. All these finds provide a portrait of a multi-ethnic and cultured city, whose history is closely linked to the sea. One of the most fascinating sections of the Classis museum, in fact, is the one concerning the Ravenna fleet and the port of what was one of the largest commercial towns in the Mediterranean for centuries.
The same building that houses the Classis museum is the protagonist of a section. Jumping forward a few centuries, it is possible to visit an area dedicated to it. In fact, the museum was once a sugar factory that employed hundreds of workers; the factory fell into decline but over time it became one of the most interesting examples of industrial archaeology.