Ceiling mosaic, Battistero degli Ariani

Ceiling mosaic, Battistero degli Ariani

Basilica di Sant'Apollinare Nuovo

Basilica di Sant'Apollinare Nuovo

Ceiling mosaic, Museo Arcivescovile

Ceiling mosaic, Museo Arcivescovile

Daria

Daria

Darla

Darla

Municipal Art Museum of Ravenna

Municipal Art Museum of Ravenna

Basilica di San Vitale (photo by Daria Smith)

Basilica di San Vitale (photo by Daria Smith)

Basilica di Sant'Apollinare Nuovo

Basilica di Sant'Apollinare Nuovo

Mausoleo di Galla Placidia (photo by Daria Smith)

Mausoleo di Galla Placidia (photo by Daria Smith)

Italy

Ravenna

July 2010 • Longtime friends led the way to Ravenna to check out the city's jaw-dropping Byzantine mosaics, reputed to be among the finest in Europe. Daria immersed herself in a week-long workshop to make good on her foundation grant; Darla and I checked off every site in the guidebook. Most of Ravenna's charms are located indoors, but the three of us also came to appreciate the pace of life, the slower churn of summer tourism, and the reliance on bicycles in the town's old quarter.

Ceiling mosaic, Battistero degli Ariani

Ceiling mosaic, Battistero degli Ariani

Basilica di Sant'Apollinare Nuovo

Basilica di Sant'Apollinare Nuovo

Ceiling mosaic, Museo Arcivescovile

Ceiling mosaic, Museo Arcivescovile

Daria

Daria

Darla

Darla

Municipal Art Museum of Ravenna

Municipal Art Museum of Ravenna

Basilica di San Vitale (photo by Daria Smith)

Basilica di San Vitale (photo by Daria Smith)

Basilica di Sant'Apollinare Nuovo

Basilica di Sant'Apollinare Nuovo

Mausoleo di Galla Placidia (photo by Daria Smith)

Basilica di Sant'Apollinare Nuovo