Following The Path of The Exarchate of Ravenna - Part 1: Rome

First of all, what on earth is the Exarchate of Ravenna??  

The Exarchate of Ravenna is the territory in Italy that was ruled by the Byzantine Empire - between the V and VIII century (orange). It looked like this:

The area we traveled is highlighted in yellow

                                               

Our road trip started in Rome - we stayed there for a week. After Rome, we stayed at a friend's place in Molino Vitelli (another week), and from her place we visited the cities nearby: Perugia, Assisi, and Gubio. When we left Molino Vitelli, we went to Ravenna for three days, Verona for 2 days, Padova (3 days), and Venice (6 days). After Venice we had 3 full days to spare, so we decided to go to Siena. Best-decision-ever. I'll tell you more about Siena and why it was great in my next posts. 

Why did we choose this path for our first trip to Italy? 

Because Nicko is a Byzantium-era whiz (which saves us a ton of money in guided tours), we love to travel, Italian food, and were looking forward to be amazed as much as possible.

Nicko and I decided to spend 4 weeks traveling through the path of the Exarchate, from July 12 to August 12, 2022. We concluded that, when the goal of your trip is to learn and discover, it's important to be able to wander and be willing to be open to the unexpected. This can only be possible when you have the time to do so. We arrived at a point in our lives that, quick getaways aren't enough anymore. We need time to appreciate new places and enjoy ourselves and the company of others. 

Later I will make a post with our exact itinerary and total cost of this trip. You will be surprised how doable it is. 

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Stop No.1: Rome

We took a smooth overnight non-stop flight on a Tuesday from Newark Airport to Fiumicino. We arrived on Wednesday at 7am, right on time to figure out our way to a sim card kiosk and the train towards the city center.* 

After a long wait for the train agent's help to book our train, we manage to board on time and head to our AirBnb, located in Via Urbana, right in the Middle of Monti, an area well-known to be walking distance from the main attractions. 

Piazza dell' Esquilino: Beginning of Via Urbana. In the back you can clearly see the Basilica Santa Maria Maggiore 

Our host was very friendly and courteous, putting to our disposition an expresso machine - that we're grateful of up to this date - and restaurant recommendations, from which the highlight was Trattoria Valentino, located in Via Del Boschetto: the food tasted like handmade by my Greek and former restaurant owner aunt-in-law.

After getting acquainted with the area, our first stop was the Basilica Santa Maria Maggiore. Nicko was elated. This trip was a treasured dream since his childhood.

If you're like me, mostly pragmatic but also enjoys to be in the moment and take it all in, I strongly recommend you to get a coffee/snack/meal right in front of the place you visited. It gives you time to reflect and ponder if you'll visit the same place again in the future. In our case, we had an expresso and a pastry at Antico Caffe:

After we finished our snacks, we started exploring around the area and we stumped into a church that didn't look like much on the outside:

We decided to go in... and when we did:

We entered through that small door, and I believe that it was here that my deep appreciation for mosaics began.

After this great day, we went for dinner and a beer in Monti, closing up what I considered, a successful day of wander:

Beers at Trattoria Valentino

Thank you for reading! Check out our full Italy Trip itinerary HERE!

Please feel free to share your thoughts and comments. I'm new in the blogging world, so I would definitely appreciate any tips and suggestions!