During the sixth century, the city of Ravenna was one of the most important cities of the Byzantine Empire. Today, many of the great buildings erected during that golden age are still standing. Just outside Ravenna, the hamlet of Classe was once the home port of the Roman fleet in the Adriatic Sea. The Basilica of Sant’Apollinare in Classe was built there, near the old seashore, which has migrated more than five miles away in the last 1,500 years. The church is now considered the greatest example of and early…