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Sant'Apollinare in Classe

South of Ravenna, on the road to Rimini, stands the fine church of Sant' Apollinare in Classe, the only preserved building of the town of Classis, with a porch and a round campanile. The church, begun about 535 on a site just outside the ancient port of Classis, was consecrated in 549; it was restored in 1779 and freed from encroaching buildings in 1904.

Near the church are excavations (Zona Archeologica di Classe).

5km/3mi southeast of Sant'Apollinare are the remains of the Pineta di Classe, a once famous pinewood which has been much reduced by felling and fire. A short way to the west is "Mirabilandia", opened in 1992, the largest leisure park in Italy, with over 30 attractions.

Must-see attractions nearby:
Things to See

Interior

The spacious interior contains 24 Byzantine marble columns. On the walls are medallions with portraits of bishops and archbishops of Ravenna (18th century). In the aisles are marble sarcophagi of archbishops of the fifth-eighth centuries. The 12th century crypt has an ancient bronze window-grating. The mosaics in the apse and on the triumphal arch date from the sixth-seventh centuries (restored). In the apse is a Christ as the Good Shepherd, below the church's patron with followers (shown as sheep); above the triumphal arch Christ as the pantocrater, surrounded by sheep symbolizing the twelve Apostles.
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