Three nights in Ravenna and three in Venice, connecting eight UNESCO monuments to the basilica they influenced. A conservation laboratory visited while work is in progress, and San Marco seen with someone who can explain what the gold ground was for.
Arrival at Bologna and transfer to Ravenna, roughly ninety minutes. The afternoon is free in a flat, compact town that walks easily. Welcome dinner with Romagna wines and an introduction to what the group is about to look at.
A full day across the UNESCO monuments with an art historian: the Mausoleum of Galla Placidia, the Neonian Baptistery, San Vitale and Sant’Apollinare Nuovo, taken slowly rather than in sequence. Independent lunch. Late afternoon free.
Morning at a mosaic conservation workshop while restoration is under way, with the conservators explaining tesserae, angles and why gold was set tilted. In the afternoon, Sant’Apollinare in Classe, outside the town, and the Theodoric mausoleum.
Morning transfer to Venice, around three hours, and water entry to the hotel. Afternoon orientation walk through Cannaregio and the old Ghetto. Dinner in a bacaro, with cicchetti and wines from the Veneto.
San Marco outside public opening hours, with the domes, the floor and the Pala d’Oro explained by a historian, followed by the Doge’s Palace. Independent lunch. Afternoon free, with an optional visit to the Scuola Grande di San Rocco.
By boat to Torcello and the mosaic cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta, the oldest building in the lagoon, then Burano for the afternoon. Return at dusk. Farewell dinner near the Zattere.
Water transfer to Marco Polo for onward flights, with time in Castello for groups with later departures.
Splendido private tours
