Ravenna, Italy Hotels, Vacations, Tourism

When RAVENNA became capital of the Western Roman Empire fifteen hundred years ago, it was more by quirk of fate than design. The Emperor Honorius, alarmed by armies invading from the north, moved his court from Milan to this obscure town on the Romagna coast around 402; it was easy to defend, surrounded by marshland, and was situated close to the port of Classis – at the time the biggest Roman naval base on the Adriatic. Honorius's anxiety proved well founded: Rome was sacked by the Goths in 410 and sank into a decline matched only by Ravenna's ensuing prosperity, and the town became the Roman capital … more »