Two extra days in Italy - Ravenna or Verona or other?

The mosaics in Ravenna a quite spectacular and are spread out over multiple sites so it is no juste one site. There is also Dante's tomb in Ravenna but that is not a major site. For art (Scrovegni Chapel) and history, Padua is another city to consider. I have not been to Verona.

Thank you! I was considering a day trip to Padua from Venice. Thanks for the suggestion. The Scrovegni Chapel is on my bucket list, but trying to weigh this with my son's interest in Roman history, Latin language studies, etc.

It is nice to know that Ravenna is as spectacular as I was hoping... We could also do Ravenna as a day trip from Bologna if it wasn't a place to stay over night...

You could spend the two extra days in Bologna and do day trips. Excellent transportation connections to pretty much anywhere, especially Emilia-Romagna. So many incredible towns within an hour's train ride.

Another suggestion.

I hesitate to suggest a place I haven't been to yet (we will be there in a few months and have done a lot of research), but take a look at the ancient Roman town of Aquileia that is 75 miles northeast of Venice. I know that people do it as a day trip from Venice, but I'd be inclined to spend your two nights there. Under 2 hours by train.

Or, with a car, stay near there --- we'll be visiting Aquileia from either Portogruaro or Udine, but there are nice towns with beaches between Venice and Aquileia. Grado, for instance, is popular with Italian tourists and has a pedestrianized Venetian medieval center and boat trips into the lagoon. A new cuisine, Friulian, for you, too.

If you had a car, you could get to some of the late medieval/early Renaissance church frescoes that I plan to be seeing --- all near Portogruaro: Concordia Sagittaria's baptistery, Summaga's abbey of Santa Maria Maggiore, Sesto al Reghena's Abbey of Santa Maria in Sylvis, and Gruaro's Church of San Tommaso Apostolo.

We've taken kids and grandkids to several places in Europe and really like to cater to their interests! Squeezing in our own, of course.

Many photos:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_Aquileia

https://educated-traveller.com/2016/12/12/aquileia-roman-city-mosaics/#:~:text=AQUILEIA%20%E2%80%93%20The%20most%20spectacular%20part,of%20Milan%20in%20313%20AD.

https://mybyzantine.wordpress.com/2009/11/08/mosaic-hunting-aquileia-grado-and-concordia/

I agree with the Ravenna mosaics. It could be a lovely day trip by train from Bologna (1 hour).

I'm so glad you mentioned Aquileia! That was an original draw to the area for a day trip, but the travel there seemed complicated. Perhaps I need to re-evaluate and stay one night. I was thinking of renting a car to get there, but sometimes car rentals for short stints are a pain..you spend so much time filling out paperwork and waiting for keys it almost doesn't feel worth it for 24 hours. And I looked at the train, but looks like you need to take a bus into the sites? I'll take a second look at this. Maybe I should go with my original plan...

Thank you for the additional ideas on where to explore around there too!

This suggestion is going to take you in a whole different direction and it may or may not work for your trip. I’m a big fan of Trieste. It’s a wonderful city and 1 hour and 15 minutes to Aquileia by train/bus (51 minutes by car). Maybe one or two nights there. A ferry ride to Miramare Castle is really nice.

How wonderful to be taking this trip with your son! The memories to be made! I am also starting my trip in Venice and ending in Bologna. (Sept-Oct '26)

• 3 nights in Venice (day trip to Padua)
• 2 nights in Verona (was afraid a day trip wouldn't be long enough)
• 4 nights in Turin (day trip to Genoa)
• 3 nights in Florence (day trip to Siena)
• 4 nights in Bologna (day trip to Ravenna)

I have been to both Venice and Florence before.
I don't feel Ravenna is worth more than a day trip for me. I almost took it off my list again, until I stumbled upon the Classense Library. I love old libraries, and this appealed to me more than the mosaics. I had to tweak my day to visit to ensure I won't miss out on the Aula Magna. I will purchase the pass for five of the mosaics, visit Dante's tomb, and explore on foot to photograph things I've noted of interest, including the mosaic street signs, random street art and the facade of Basilica Santa Maria in Porto.

I had initially planned a day trip to Verona from Bologna, but after more research and watching live walking tours on Youtube, Verona drew me in and I added 2 nights onto my trip. Juliet's Balcony is not on my Verona itinerary. I plan on walking my feet off in Verona exploring and photographing what excites me. Some of my must-sees below-

• The Arena (a must, even though I did both attic/underground tours of the Colosseum in Rome. Though smaller, this one is older and still operates as a venue, which is so cool.)
• Scaliger Tombs
• Capitolare Library (one of the oldest libraries in the world, and oldest still in operation)
• Torre Lamberti (Medieval Tower for views)
• The Roman Theatre
• Castel San Pietro funicular up to viewpoint (is above the Roman Theatre)
• Ponte Scaliegero
• Numerous piazzas, palaces, arches, bridges, river views and more!

Bologna was my favorite place in Italy, hands-down (last year we went to Milan, Genoa, Florence, Bologna and Rome). A day trip to Ravenna from Bologna on the train is very easy and the mosaics are so spectacular they are beyond description. Highly recommend!

I'm planning another trip where I will spend quite a bit more time in Bologna, both because I love it but also because of the ease of taking day trips. I haven't been yet, but you might consider Parma or Modena if you decide you don't want to go to Verona.

I'm a lover of both art and mosaics. It took me two full days to get through my target list in Ravenna, and I'd have like a few additional hours for random wandering in the attractive town. There are additional mosaic sites not covered by the combo ticket, a mosaic museum and an art museum.

One of the primary mosaic sites is out in Classe, which is accessible by bus or train. There's a relatively new archaeological museum, Classis Ravenna, not too far away. I didn't have time for it.

Verona has the the Roman Arena and Amphitheatre - both still in use - and the theater also houses the archeological museum that rambles through several old religious buildings along the hillside above the city. The museum collection is small but interesting including Roman and pre-Roman Celtic and Greek artifacts as well. The city's sprawling underground Roman ruins area - previously housing a photography museum - has sadly been closed since 2020. There is a glimpse down into the ruins at Verona Vecchia.

Verona is a great walking town - the center is nearly traffic free and buildings with faded murals and painted details lurk in unlikely corners. There are cafes with outdoor seating everywhere in Verona whenever you decide to want to sit and/or spritz. If you like modern art check out the small Palazzo Maffei Casa Museo which mixes ancient and modern art, a palazzo and rooftop tour all into one place overlooking piazza Erbe and is underadvertised. I think Piazza Erbe (looking past the market stands) is one of the prettiest piazzas in Italy. Verona has the 'elegant decay' feeling with faded murals on medieval buildings that the Veneto does so well.

If you're really interesting in Roman ruins check out Brescia. It's 35 minutes from Verona on the fast train and has some amazing ruins. You can actually tour a preserved Roman era temple to Celtic Goddess that was closed when the city was promoted to full Roman cityhood and they only wanted Roman gods worshipped. The ruins of the remaining temples are open as well tons of recovered writing, inscriptions and statues etc.
https://www.bresciamusei.com/en/museums-and-venues/brixia-roman-archaeological-area/
Get timed tickets for this ahead of time. Only small groups are allowed in certain areas for 15 minutes to protect the environment so timing is critical.

And then wander down to Santa Giulia Museum which is an interesting museum spread through many buildings of different eras but the basement is in situ Roman mosaic floors and some of the museum walls are actually the original Roman walls. The museum is built diagonally across the old Roman bath and houses so all the original floor plans are in place.
https://www.bresciamusei.com/en/museums-and-venues/santa-giulia-museum/
https://www.facebook.com/groups/archaeologyofancientmosaics/posts/1036346374617613/

Brescia is also an interesting city with grand piazza after grand piazza strung together and after all that it even has a castle on top of the hill. I really enjoyed Brescia and I don't know why it's unknown to tourists.

So I think staying in Verona with a day trip to Brescia might be exactly what you're looking for.

My $.02, have a great trip,
=Tod

These suggestions and insights are wonderful - thank you all so much!