Emilia-Romagna · Ravenna
Ravenna
A 4-meter coastal capital of three successive empires, with eight UNESCO mosaic monuments from the fifth and sixth centuries.
Picked by Peter Benei
Letter to come
Why Ravenna is on our list
It holds UNESCO, Bandiera Blu and Città d'Arte.
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Visiting
- Best time
- May–Sep
- By car
- 58 min from Rimini
- By train
- Station in the comune
- Population
- 156,340
- J9°
- F13°
- M15°
- A18°
- M23°
- J29°
- J32°
- A31°
- S26°
- O21°
- N14°
- D10°
- Best
- Hot or crowded
- Quiet
- Mostly closed
Daytime air temperature, averages for 2020–2024. The sea is warmest in August at 29° and coldest in January at 8°. Weather data by Open-Meteo.com.
Going to the sea? How to find the free beaches in Italy.
Why come
Ravenna sits four meters above sea level on the Adriatic coastal plain, ten kilometers from the sea and 105 kilometers east of Modena. Its position, low, flat, and close to the coast but not on it, made it defensible in a way landlocked cities were not: the surrounding marsh and lagoon kept armies at a distance while boats could still reach it. That is why Honorius moved the Western Roman capital here in 402, why Theoderic kept it as his Ostrogothic seat, and why the Byzantine Exarchate held it for Constantinople until 751 as the last piece of imperial territory in northern Italy.
Each of the three regimes built churches and paid for mosaic to decorate them, which is why the city's monuments read as a sequence rather than a single style: Roman, Gothic and Byzantine hands working in the same medium across a century and a half. The municipality itself is split between this historic center and a stretch reaching the Adriatic, where Marina di Ravenna and Punta Marina hold Bandiera Blu beaches, so the same town that holds the fifth-century mausoleums also runs a public coastline. Population is 156,340. What the churches add up to is less a city of monuments than a record of power changing hands, with each occupant leaving its faith in glass and gold on the walls rather than tearing down what came before.
How to get there
From Bologna (BLQ), about 1 h by car.
Rimini (RMI) is about 1 h 15 min away.
By car from the center of Parma 1 h 54 min.
There is a railway station in the comune, so you can arrive without a car.
Coming from Bologna, Florence or Verona?
Coming by train into Forlì? Ravenna is about 35 min away by road.
Every town within reach of Bologna airport.
First time driving in Italy? Read our complete manual.
What to see
Basilica di San Vitale
Octagonal basilica holding the imperial mosaics of Justinian and Theodora in the presbytery and apse, the throne room of the sequence in gold and purple.
Mausoleo di Galla Placidia
Small mausoleum next to the basilica, vaulted in a starry blue mosaic sky with gold cross and the symbols of the Evangelists, dim enough that the gold seems to generate its own light.
Basilica di Sant'Apollinare Nuovo
Built by Theoderic as his palace chapel, the nave walls lined with continuous mosaic processions of saints and martyrs facing each other the full length of the church.
Basilica di Sant'Apollinare in Classe
Set at the ancient port of Classe, five kilometers south of the center, with a luminous green apse mosaic of the Transfiguration lit through plain clerestory windows.
Battistero Neoniano
Built by Bishop Neon over an earlier bath house, the dome mosaic showing the Baptism of Christ encircled by the twelve apostles, directly above the font.
From the guides
Where to eat
Not our picks, but places the guides put their name to: a Michelin star, a Gambero Rosso fork, a Slow Food snail, a Michelin Key for the hotels. Worth a table, a counter, or a night when you pass through.
Antica Trattoria al Gallo 1909Ristorante
Antica Trattoria al Gallo 1909 holds a place on Italy's historic-locali register and a spot in the Michelin Guide.
L'AcciugaRistorante
A spot in the Michelin Guide, at L'Acciuga.
Osteria dei BattibecchiTrattoria
Osteria dei Battibecchi holds one Gambero Rosso prawn.
2 more places the guides name in Ravenna
Osteria del Tempo PersoRistorante
A spot in the Michelin Guide, at Osteria del Tempo Perso.
Osteria della ZabarionaTrattoria
Osteria della Zabariona carries two Gambero Rosso prawns.
Before you sit down: how to order at a restaurant, how to spot a tourist trap, what aperitivo is and how the Italian bar works.
Living here
Could you live here?
Ravenna is a city.
- A city of 156,340 people, and a provincial capital: the services are here, not a drive away.
- A station of its own, so the rest of Italy is a train ride away.
The rules come from our series Where to Move in Italy, written from the places we have lived: Part 1, The End of the Road · Part 2, The Small Town · Part 3, The City · Part 4, The Postcard · Part 5, The Other Half. The towns we would pick are in Part 6, The Best Towns.
- Population 156,340, down 1.4% since 2015
- Train station in the comune
- A national health service hospital in the comune · how healthcare works in Italy
- Homes in the center: €1,700 to €2,350 per m² to buy, €9.10 to €11.50 per m² a month to rent
All the numbers Common questions, designations, lists and sources.
More about living here
- A local hub
- Pharmacy in town
- High school within a 30-minute drive
- Full fibre reaches 86% of homes
- Primary school in the comune
- Earthquake zone 3, low hazard
- Forlì airport (FRL), 37 min drive, the nearest with scheduled flights
- Regional capital Bologna, 1 h 2 min drive
If you are moving here
Who lives here
11% of residents are foreign citizens, most often from Romania, Albania and Ukraine, against 9% across Italy. 277 of them come from English-speaking countries or western and northern Europe, mostly France, Germany and the United Kingdom. There are 255 people over 65 for every 100 children under 15, against 216 across Italy. 28% of homes have no resident, holiday homes and empty ones counted together, against 27% across Italy. Ravenna province ranks 19th of 107 in Il Sole 24 Ore's quality of life ranking for 2025.
Health and schools
There is a major emergency department in the comune. The nearest IB school is International School of Rimini, 50 km as the crow flies.
Information, not medical advice. Confirm with a professional.
Working from here
Poste Italiane has finished a coworking room in the comune, on its register of 30 September 2026. Check that it is open on Poste's booking site before you count on it.
Taxes
A home that is not your main one pays 1.06% a year in property tax, charged on the cadastral value rather than the price. A main home pays none unless it is in a luxury category. The town adds 0.8% to your income tax, with nothing due on income under €13,000. 7% pensioner tax: this town is not in a qualifying area.
Information, not tax advice. Confirm with a professional.
What it costs
The average household in Emilia-Romagna spends about €2,500 a month, €560 of it on food, against about €2,170 across Italy. A family of three pays about €604 a year for water, on the Emilia-Romagna average. In Ravenna, the provincial capital, in September 2026, an espresso cost €1.44 and a meal in a pizzeria €13.05.
Climate and risk
It is in climate zone E, on a scale from A, the warmest, to F, the coldest, and heating may run from October 15 to April 15, up to 14 hours a day, unless the mayor changes it. 12% of residents live in a zone the national maps rate high for floods, 100% in a high or medium one. They show no residents in a high landslide zone.
These shares cover the whole comune, not any one street. Check an address on IdroGEO.
Moving from abroad? Which visa you need. Sources: ISTAT, the Ministry of Health, ISPRA, the Finance Ministry, the Ministry of Enterprise, Poste Italiane, the comuni, the IB, International Schools Database, Il Sole 24 Ore, Cittadinanzattiva.
Known for
UNESCO MOSAICS
Eight monuments from the fifth and sixth centuries inscribed in 1996, including San Vitale, Galla Placidia and Sant'Apollinare Nuovo.
THREE CAPITALS
Capital of the Western Roman Empire from 402, of Theoderic's Ostrogothic kingdom from 493, and of Byzantine Italy until 751.
DANTE
The poet died here in 1321 in exile from Florence and is buried beside the Basilica of San Francesco, in a neoclassical tomb of 1781.
PESCA E NETTARINA DI ROMAGNA
The commune lies inside the Pesca e Nettarina di Romagna IGP production zone.
Common questions
- What is Ravenna known for?
- Ravenna is a 4-meter coastal capital of three successive empires, with eight UNESCO mosaic monuments from the fifth and sixth centuries.
- Where is Ravenna?
- Ravenna is a comune in the province of Ravenna, in Emilia-Romagna, at 4 meters above sea level.
- What is the nearest airport to Ravenna?
- The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Forlì (FRL), about 37 min by car.
- Can you get to Ravenna without a car?
- Yes. There is a railway station in the comune, so you can arrive by train.
- How long is the drive from Parma to Ravenna?
- About 1 h 54 min by car.
- When is the best time to visit Ravenna?
- Best in May–Sep. July is the warmest month, averaging 32 degrees, and May the wettest, with about 11 rain days.
- Which other towns are like Ravenna?
- Trieste, Pesaro and Senigallia.
- How many people live in Ravenna?
- 156,340 residents, by ISTAT's count on 1 January 2025.
- Is Ravenna a good place to live?
- Ravenna is a city of 156,340 people, the kind of place Part 3 of our Where to Move in Italy series is about. There is a national health service hospital in the comune. Full fibre reaches 86% of homes.
Tags & data designations · numbers · sources
Recognized as
Landscape
The numbers
- Elevation: 4 m
- Population: 156,340
- Surface area: 653.82 km²
These figures were compiled from public directories: ISTAT, OpenStreetMap and Wikidata, and from the official listings of the guides named on this page. Town details change; verify with official sources before you travel.
The ranked lists
Lists Ravenna appears in
- The 6 best towns inside a nature park that you can reach by train in Emilia-RomagnaEmilia-Romagnainside a parkby train6 towns · smallest 7,181 residents
- The best towns with a World Heritage site within 90 minutes of BolognaNear Bolognawithin 90 minWorld Heritage6 towns · smallest 10,939 residents · closest 48 min away
- The best towns inside a nature park that eat well in Emilia-RomagnaEmilia-Romagnainside a parkeats well7 towns · smallest 2,428 residents
- The best towns known for what they grow within an hour of RiminiNear Riminiwithin 60 minproduce zone9 towns · smallest 6,505 residents · closest 17 min away
- The best coastal towns within two hours of BolognaNear Bolognacoastalwithin 2 hours10 towns · smallest 4,856 residents · closest 62 min away
- The best towns with a World Heritage site within two hours of ParmaNear Parmawithin 2 hoursWorld Heritage10 towns · smallest 1,287 residents · closest 40 min away
Featured on
Ravenna appears on this themed pick from our Collections:
Similar
Towns like Ravenna
What all six share with Ravenna: on the Adriatic coast · over 10,000 people · near sea level · have a railway station in the comune
The letter
Ravenna is on our list. Its letter is still to come.
We are writing about all 1,000 of these towns, one at a time, in a free letter: the photo, what is worth eating, and when to turn up. That is our mission. Sign up and you will be there when Ravenna comes up. By Peter & Sophia, from Turin.
The nearest town we have written up is Chioggia, 90 km away. Read its letter →
Paid plans, the moving year and the books are on the membership page.