Ravenna had emerged as the center of the Western world by the time Placidia arrived in 416. “Ravenna attracted the best artists and architects from around the empire,” noted Claudia Frassineti, a cultural heritage specialist and guide in the city. “It was the new capital city, the focus of wealth and power.”

Emperor Honorius, Placidia’s half-brother, presided in a magnificent palace overlooking the Adriatic, surrounded by luxury villas for aristocrats, splendid churches and a stadium for horse races. The port turned into “an emporium,” Frassineti added, its warehouses bursting with goods from the Mediterranean and beyond.