OMG - What a wonderful place! This is a city we definitely want to spend an extended amount of time in on our next visit to Italy. Ravenna was the capital of the Western Roman Empire from 402-476 AD. Although it's an inland city, Ravenna is connected to the Adriatic Sea by the Candiano Canal, and is directly south of Venice (halfway between Venice & Florence, actually). We stopped there after our visit to Bologna (54 miles away). Extra virgin olive oil and chestnuts are a big part of Ravenna's cuisine. Antipasti will vary according to the season, and you'll find tortellacci, stuffed with herbs and served with mascarpone and pine nuts, as well as minestrone flavored with truffles. George liked the octopus stewed with balsamic vinegar, served with arugula and cannellini beans; but I went for the tortellaci di ortica (pasta stuffed with cheese and served with fish and tomatoes). The Ravenna region has a great many vineyards and two of the varieties of grapes are more or less unique to Ravenna (i.e. Centesimino and Uva Longanesi) which are both virtually unknown to the wider wine world. In fact, there was a wine-tasting festival going on while we were there (8 Euro, all you could drink - no, that wasn't the reason I want to go back, but it didn't hurt!). I thought of keeping this gorgeous little place all to ourselves, but I just had to share it with you. Enjoy the pictures of our now favorite city in Italy, Ravenna!
