Ravenna is a town that was once the capital of an empire, and then largely forgotten, which is why so much of it survives. In 402 AD the Western Roman emperor Honorius moved his court here, because the marshes around it were easier to defend than Rome. After Rome fell, the Ostrogoth king Theodoric ruled from Ravenna, and then the Byzantine emperor Justinian reconquered it, and left behind the churches whose mosaics are among the glories of early Christian art. Eight of its early Christian monuments are on the UNESCO World Heritage list.
The mosaics are the reason to come. In the church of San Vitale, the walls glitter with images of Justinian and his empress Theodora, their eyes looking out across fifteen centuries, while in the small mausoleum of Galla Placidia, a deep blue ceiling is scattered with golden stars. They are simple, silent places, small in scale and huge in effect, and you may need a ticket and a little patience in high season. Dante, exiled from Florence, died here in 1321 and is buried in a modest tomb close to the centre, which is still a place of pilgrimage for Italians.
For a rider, Ravenna is a flat, easy city, with cyclists on every street and a large car-free centre. Parking for motorcycles is generally easy on the edge of the old town. The Mille Miglia route, the great Italian road race, passes through Ravenna, and a handful of car and motorbike enthusiasts will always have a story about it. Fuel and food are no problem in a city of eighty thousand, and it is the home of piadina, a thin flatbread filled with cheese, ham or rocket, which is one of the best snacks in Italy.
Out of town, the coast and the pine forest of Classe offer a quiet ride, and the Po Delta, with its lagoons and flamingos, lies a short way to the north. The roads are flat and straight, with fog in winter and mosquitos in summer, but the light, in spring and autumn, is lovely. Plan to stay for a few hours, take your time with the mosaics and end the day with a plate of fresh pasta in one of the old town's trattorie. If you can, make an early start, because the churches are quieter in the morning.