Mosaic, beyond any shadow of doubt, is the most representative symbol of Ravenna.
If, on the one hand, the assortment of small and magnificent tesserae constitutes a leading component of early Christian and Byzantine artistic heritage, on the other, it is remarkable how diffuse and visible this collection of masterpieces is all around the city: inside the UNESCO World Heritage monuments, in the streets and squares, in the main archaeological sites, in museums and schools, in crafts and souvenir shops.
It is as if the very image of Ravenna, of its history and of its community, were set and displayed as part of an even greater mosaic, since 1996, that of humanity’s world heritage.
If it was the splendour of the mosaics, created over the centuries, that made Ravenna great, being superior in quality and iconography in comparison with all other cities of the ancient world (West and East), and so admired as to become the creative workshop of the greatest artists and men of letters in history, it was also due to the fact that the city itself gave space and life to these masterpieces, thus allowing them to reveal themselves and speak to the world.
