Ravenna is famous for its mosaics; hordes of tourists move from one church to another, craning their necks to glimpse the dim lustre of tiny multicolored smalti high up under dusky vaults.

Now that he'd delivered the gift he'd lugged up four dim-lit flights of stairs, the old man refused any further obligation.

So many Asian restaurants have opened up in Washington that a writer on a daily paper here jokes that dim sum, Japanese sushi and Vietnamese spring rolls have become as American as applie pie.