Scroll down on this Ravenna mosaic webpage for a red-and-pink chart showing the hours most of the sites are open. All of those listed sites are closed on New Year's Day. You have to be very careful about accepting critical information at face value, especially when it comes from someone in a different city and/or with no particular reason to be on top of the information you need. There's a human tendency to prefer giving people good news, even if you're not positive it is true. Italians are not immune to that. My policy is that, if it's bad news for me, I assume it's probably correct; if it's good news, I look for verification.
Two mosaic sites not listed in the chart are:
- Battistero degli Ariani: T.O. website says closed only on Christmas. I would seek confirmation.
- Basilica of Sant'Appolinare in Classe: T.O. website says closed Sundays, but no indication it will be closed on New Year's. I would want confirmation from the site, however. This site is nearby but out of town. On normal workdays there's bus service. There was even some service on Saturday when I was there. I suspect the buses might not run at all on Sundays and holidays, so you'd need a taxi if you will not be traveling by car. You'd probably need to have the taxi wait for you.
I enjoy window-shopping but don't remember doing much of that in Ravenna. It is surprisingly non-touristy, and it may not have the number of good craft shops you encounter in some other Italian towns. Or perhaps I was too busy goggling at the incredible mosaics.
New Year's Day doesn't look like a good time to go to Ravenna. It is a very pretty town, and you could still appreciate the exterior architecture, but it's a long enough trip from Bologna that I wouldn't go if most of the mosaic sites were not open.
This webpage describes the markets of Ravenna.
Faenza is also an attractive town, though I'd say not in Ravenna's class. It gets fewer tourists (not that Ravenna was very busy during my 2015 visit). The ceramic museum is really good; it's not small and takes a good bit of time to visit. I think you'll want to see it since you referred to Faenza as "the pottery town". Unfortunately, I can't decode the information on the website to discern whether the museum will, in fact, be open on New Year's Day. I am more than a little doubtful. I suggest emailing the museum to ask: [email protected] . This webpage shows the location of the museum.
It's worth visiting the Faenza tourist office; it sometimes displays ceramics. In 2015 it was located beyond the museum in the historic center. Check the current address on line if you plan to go there. It moved a few years ago, and I started out with a bad address. If you're thinking about shopping for ceramics in Faenza, I suggest doing some Googling. The T.O. had a map with ceramic-related businesses marked, and I spent a fair amount of time walking around. I don't remember finding very much open. Perhaps it was the day of the week (a Saturday in mid-July) or the time of day (possibly during the siesta??).
Your trip to Parma and Modena is estimated by Via Michelin at nearly 5 hours of driving time, and VM is thought to be optimistic.
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