Ravenna

A city of northeast Italy near the Adriatic Sea northeast of Florence. An important naval station in Roman times, it was an Ostrogoth capital in the fifth and sixth centuries A.D. and the center of Byzantine power in Italy from the late sixth century until c. 750, when it was conquered by the Lombards. Ravenna eventually became part of the papal dominions and was included in the kingdom of Italy in 1861. Population: 151,000.