Hi and thanks in advance for your help:
We’re headed to Ravenna and I was curious about the necessity of a guide for the mosaic sites in Ravenna. I visited several websites (not maintained by guides…) that highly suggested hiring one.
Any first hand experience would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks!
I spent a week in Ravenna a few years ago, primarily to see the mosaics . As I do all my own homework , I found no need for a guide. The sites have adequate descriptive information themselves and advance preparation will serve you well . The Austrian artist Gustav Klimt made two trips to Ravenna at the turn of the twentieth century and his late work circa 1908 shows the influence the mosaics had on him . Also, about three miles outside of the city , a short bus ride out, is Sant' Appollinaire in Classe . Don't miss that .
I guess it depends on how deeply you want to dig into the place of Ravenna in history as the western edge of Roman empire after the fall of Rome itself. I think Rick does a decent short overview of the place of Ravenna, the source of the mosaics and their place in Christian history. If you want more information and historical context then that then a good guide can add that and Ravenna has a lot of history.
The actual logistics of touring the various sites and admiring them is easy enough without a guide. We were there earlier this year and Ravenna understands why people are there and facilitate the touring of the sites with blanket tickets and maps of the various sites.
I would also recommend this under advertised site for Roman style floor mosaics in Ravenna if you have time.
https://www.turismo.ra.it/en/culture-and-history/archaeology/domus-stone-carpets/
Enjoy Ravenna,
=Tod
I would say there's absolutely no necessity to hire a guide. But I'd also say a good guide can enhance the experience. We didn't hire one and I don't feel that we deprived ourselves in any way, but others might have a different experience.
Or, as at virtually any other major site in Europe, you can buy an illustrated Ravenna guidebook in English for a reasonable price which will give you more detailed information about the town and all the mosaic sites and also be a nice souvenir of your visit.
I used two guidebooks that I found very helpful and informative for viewing the mosaics. One was the Rick Steves chapter on Ravenna which is sometime but not always included in his Italy book or in his Venice book. You have to carefully check the table of contents to see which editions include Ravenna. I bought a cheap used copy of the RS Venice book just for the Ravenna and Padua chapters which I tore out and packed, and found very useful (I wasn't visiting Venice). I also used an ebook of the Bradt guide to Emila-Romagna which I found especially informative for art, churches, and museums throughout the region.
