The weather caught up with us at the next stop which was Ravenna which used to be the capital of Italy many years ago. Because of the rain photography outside was severely limited! We visited the Church of S. Vitale which was began in 525 A D. The mosaics are magnificent with lots of gold.
The urn in this mosaic gives the impression of being in 3D. It may well be but you cannot get close enough to see!
Apparently Ravenna is only a few feet above the water so there is constant work being done to ensure that the building doesn't sink. This part of the floor was lifted at some point and you can actually see the water in the space that was left. The design on the right is the original swastika design which was used by Hitler with some alterations.
Part of the actual floor - it was a bit difficult to photograph with so many people walking over it. Because of the water problem they have found it is better preserved by not covering it as the humidity would cause more deterioration.
We next visited Sant'Apollinare Nuovo which had more mosaics. 
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