Ravenna was the capital of the western Roman empire in the fifth century, then of the Ostrogothic kingdom under Theodoric and later of Byzantine Italy, and each of these rulers left a layer of mosaics that glitter in the dark. The Archiepiscopal Chapel, dedicated to Sant'Andrea, was built around the year 500 by Theodoric, who was an Arian Christian, and its vault and walls are covered in gold and white mosaics of birds, flowers, and a Christ dressed as a Roman soldier, trampling a lion and a serpent. It is a tiny space, barely big enough for a small group, but the effect is astonishing.
The great mosaics of San Vitale and Sant'Apollinare Nuovo are close at hand, and the whole group of early Christian monuments is a World Heritage site. Ravenna is also where Dante spent his last years and died in 1321, and his tomb, a small neoclassical shrine, is a short walk from the chapel. The Adriatic once lapped at the city walls, but the sea has retreated, leaving the port of Classe a few kilometres away.
The label tied to this stop mentions the Vena del Gesso Romagnola, and that is a fine reason to ride. This is a ridge of gypsum that runs along the Apennine foothills, white and sharply cut, with caves, sinkholes and woods above the valley of the Santerno and Senio. From Ravenna you cross the flat plain, drained marshland of poplar rows and farms, then climb the hills of Brisighella and Monte Mauro, with their small, winding roads and outcrops of pale rock. The surface is variable, narrow and with tight bends, and the plain is windy and foggy in winter.
Ravenna has eighty thousand people, so petrol, parking and a meal are all easy to find, though the old centre is a traffic-limited zone. Local food is rich, with piadina flatbread, cappelletti pasta and clams from the coast. Bicycles are everywhere, so look carefully at junctions. Go in spring or autumn for gentle weather, and look for the mosaics with a short break from the heat.