Nestled just on the eastern edge of the Emilia-Romagna region, a few miles from the Adriatic Sea, you will find the ancient city of Ravenna. Once a thriving seaport and covered in marshes, Ravenna now lies five miles inland but remains connected to the sea by the Candiano Canal. Wandering through the unassuming town today, you'd never imagine that for a three century span beginning in 402, Ravenna served as a capital of the Western Roman Empire, chief city of the Ostrogoth Kingdom of Italy, and a nexus of a powerful Byzantine exarchate.