An Introduction to Ravenna

 Italy, Ravenna
Nov 102022
 

November 2022

Some fun chimney tops in town that look like a Parthenon

In 402 CE the reality of barbarian invasions compelled the Western Roman emperor Honorius to move his court from Rome to Ravenna.

In 438 the city was raised to the status of an archbishopric.  With the fall of the Western Empire in 476, it became the capital of the first barbarian ruler of Italy, Odoacer (reigned 476–493), who in turn surrendered it to the Ostrogothic king Theuderic (reigned 493–526) in 493. Theuderic made Ravenna the capital of the Ostrogothic kingdom, but in 540 Ravenna was occupied by the great Byzantine general Belisarius.

Are you exhausted yet?

Bringing you up to more modern times: In 1441 Venice established direct rule over Ravenna, but in 1509 the city was returned to the Papal States. In 1512, following the Battle of Ravenna, the city was seized by the French but was soon recaptured. In 1859 Ravenna proclaimed its union with the kingdom of Sardinia, which became the kingdom of Italy in 1861.

Piazza del Popolo

Piazza del Popolo dates to the second half of the 13th century, a period when the Da Polenta family controlled the city.

Following the example of Piazza San Marco, in Venice  two columns were placed in the square, the lion of Saint Mark, and a statue of the patron Saint Apollinaris.

In 1509, when Pope Julius II took possession of the city after the defeat of the Venetians at Ghiaia d’Adda, the insignia of the Serenissima was removed from the square.  The lion on the column was replaced by the patron saint, and the statue of San Vitale was added.

The square, at first called Piazza del Comune and then Piazza Maggiore, was named after Vittorio Emanuele II after the proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy.

The current name of the square dates back to the institutional referendum of 1946 when over 88% of the people of Ravenna voted in favor of the republic.

Today Ravenna is an agricultural and industrial city. With its population of 160,000, it is a quiet, mid-sized city and the capital of Italy’s northeastern Emilia-Romagna region. And, although it is an inland city, Ravenna is connected to the Adriatic Sea by the Candiano Canal.

Tourists are drawn to its well-preserved late Roman and Byzantine architecture, with eight buildings comprising the UNESCO World Heritage Site “Early Christian Monuments of Ravenna” and their mosaics.

Lord Byron lived in Ravenna between 1819 and 1821, driven to do so by his love for a local aristocratic and married young woman, Teresa Guiccioli. Here he continued Don Juan and wrote Ravenna Diary, My Dictionary, and Recollections.

Creating images from small pebbles to ornament the floors of buildings was a technique developed in ancient Greece, which the Romans turned into a technical tour-de-force at Ravenna.

 

The flooded crypt of San Francesco

The city of Ravenna sits on a relatively soft marshland which has led to a number of structural issues among its buildings and apparently the entire city is slowly sinking. The crypt of San Francesco is now constantly filled with a foot or so of standing water. Since fighting the creeping flood has proved fruitless, the pool is now home to goldfish (and occasionally ducks) which swim among the columns and over the sunken mosaics.

Receiving Mail in Ravenna

As I mentioned the mosaics are why people come to Ravenna.  Their vastness is covered in two other posts. Here and Here.

The Church of San Giovanni Evangelista is where the most primitive mosaics can be found.

Basilica of Sant’Apollinare in Classe where one will find very sophisticated mosaics

 

Guidarello Guidarelli

Guidarello Guidarelli after an exceptional military career in the service of Cesare Borgia, took part in the siege and attacks on the city of Faenza in the winter of 1500 – 1501 where he was mortally wounded.

Guidarelli was carried to the house of Penserio Sassatelli where he managed to dictate his will and organize his funeral. His remains were to be buried in the church of San Francesco in Ravenna. As part of his testament, he ordered that 600 ducats be set aside for sculptural works on his tomb, although it took more than 25 years for this wish to be carried out. In 1827 his descendants had his tomb removed from the garden outside of the church of San Francesco to the new Ravenna Art Museum, where it now resides.

The sculpture of Guidarello Guidarelli by Tullio Lombardo became more famous than he may have imagined.  According to legend any woman who kissed the statue would be married the same year, while any spouse would eventually have a child as beautiful as the Guidarelli.

In 2004 the statue was cleaned of what must have been layers and layers of lipstick and put behind glass.  When I visited it was no longer behind glass, but a guard stood by, I am sure, to make sure I did not lean down and kiss the dear knight.

 

The Mosaics of Ravenna, Italy – Part 1

 Italy, Ravenna
Nov 102022
 

November 2022

Ravenna is a very quiet town at this time of year.  There are very few people and almost no cars, making access to everything easy, and fairly clear of tourists.

The main reason people come to Ravenna is the mosaics. And rightfully so, as they are worth a trip.  However, the city holds such a large collection it does take more than one day to absorb.  This large number is a result of mother nature being kind to Ravenna* and the fact that it suffered very little during World War II.

The Castle of Teodorico

What is left today of the so-called Palazzo di Teodorico dates from the 7th or 8th century, and was built during the Byzantine Exarchate period as a gatehouse structure for access to the Imperial Palace.  The Palazzo was closed for repairs but you can peek in and see a hand full of mosaics that are said to be from the area around the Palazzo.

Mosaics that can be seen in the Palazzo di Teodorico

I start with these as they are simple in design and construction materials.

San Giovanni Evangelista

The mosaics of San Giovanni Evangelista

These mosaics date from 1213 and are incredibly simplistic.  Along the walls of the San Giovanni Evangelista, church hangs a disparate collection of images from line ‘drawings’ describing the Fourth Crusade to signs of the zodiac, an upside-down angel, and some strange mythical beasts.

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The mosaics of San Giovanni Evangelista provide stylized details of the Crusades

Originally embedded in a church floor, the images depicted in the mosaics were apparently intentionally crude in order to tell their story in plain, straightforward ways for the illiterate churchgoers.

Inside San Giovanni Evangelista

Fortunately, the church was completely empty because when my travel mate Susan said this one was calling Uber I guffawed a little too loud.

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A modern and yet similar mosaic by Leonardo Pivi.

The Art Museum of the City of Ravenna, as part of the 7th edition of the Biennale of Contemporary Mosaics 2022, is presenting Prodigy Kid, an extensive exhibition by artists Francesco Cavaliere and Leonardo Pivi.  Both artists often work in mosaics.

From here the mosaics become elaborate, elegant, and obvious of and for the highborn.

Capella di Sant Andrea

Mosaics of the Capella di Sant Andrea

The mosaics of the chapel date back to Bishop Peter II (494-519) in the Theodorician period, at the time of the coexistence in Ravenna of the two religious faiths: the Arian one and the Orthodox (catholic) one.  The Capella di Sant Andrea is on the second floor of the Archiepiscopal Museum. It is an example of an early Christian archbishop’s chapel and the only building of Orthodox worship built during Theodorician Arianism.  Arianism in this context is Christological doctrine first attributed to Arius, a Christian from Alexander, Egypt, and has nothing to do with the word that is spelled with a y.

The floor of the Capella di Sant Andrea

Among the many valuable pieces in the museum, is the ivory throne of Maximian (Archbishop Maximianus of Ravenna). The work is in what has been called the “Justinianic style” of early Byzantine art.

The Ivory Throne

Battistero Neoniano

Battistero Neoniano

The most ancient monument remaining in the city of Ravenna was partly erected on the site of a Roman bath. The octagonal brick structure was erected during the late Western Roman Empire by Bishop Ursus at the end of the 4th or beginning of the 5th century.  The baptistery was finished by Bishop Neon at the end of the 5th century, at which time the mosaic decorations were added.

The Central Dome of the Baptistery features Christ immersed to his ankles in the waters of the Jordan, with John the Baptist: it is the oldest witness of a mosaic depicting Christ’s baptism inside a monument. Christ is surrounded by the figures of the Twelve Apostles.

Farther down the walls in the Baptistery

*By this I meant there have been few damaging earthquakes, however, the following morning I did experience a 4.9 one.

UNESCO Sites and the Mosaics of Ravenna, Italy Part 2

 Italy, Ravenna
Nov 102022
 

November 2022

Basilica di San Vitale

The interior of the dome, with Baroque frescoes from the late 18th century.

Gustav Klimt visited Ravenna twice in 1903, after which began the period of his painting called “aureus”. Many speculate that he did so after seeing the gold of the mosaics in the Basilica di San Vitale.

              Yesterday I came here. It was raining and I was safe and sound.

              It rained all night even under the window, even in my room.

              Today the sun came out, at last. Ravenna is full of misery, and mosaics of an exceptional beauty.

              Regards to you and to others

                             Gustav

                                            [Gustav Klimt to Emilie Floge, December 2, 1903]

Bishop Ecclesius built San Vitale in 525 after his journey to Constantinople.  One must assume the mosaics of Hagia Sophia had an influence on the mosaics in this church.

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The floor of the Basilica di San Vitale

Basilica di Sant’Apollinare Nuovo

Basilica di Sant’Apollinare Nuovo

Saint’Apollinare Nuovo was built (493-526) by Theoderic, king of the Goths, as the palatine basilica. Despite its former Arian* cult, the inner mosaic decoration show some interesting history. Around 561, after the Goths were run out of town, the church was converted to Catholic orthodoxy (Justinian’s Edict) and consecrated with the name of St. Martin in “Gold Heaven” because of its shining gold lacunar ceiling.

As you see below the damnatio memoriae of the Theodoric’s court, was removed from the palatine basilica and replaced with the curtains.

Basilica di Sant’Apollinare Nuovo

Basilica di Sant’Apollinare Nuovo

Mausoleum of Galla Placidia

Mausoleum of Galla Placidia

The Mausoleum of Galla Placidia must be considered one of the crown jewels of Ravenna.

Mausoleum of Galla Placidia

Built by the empress Placida during the first half of the 5th century it was conceived as a burial site.  It never actually fulfilled its purpose. Despite the name Empress Galla Placidia (d. 450) was not buried in the building, she died in Rome and was buried there.

Alabaster windows of the Mausoleum

Basilica of Sant’Apolinare in Classe

Basilica of Sant’Apollinare in Classe

The Basilica of Sant’Apollinare was commissioned between 535 and 538 CE. It was consecrated on May 9 549 CE by Archbishop Maximianus.

The Basilica is the town of Classe, which, in Roman times was a port area that housed the permanent second fleet of the Roman Empire’s Navy.  Classe derives from the Latin word Classis which means “fleet”.

In the lower part of the apse, is the figure of Sant’Apollinare in prayer, between two flocks of lambs .In the space between the windows, four bishops, the founders of the main Ravenna Basilicas, are depicted: Ursicinus, Ursus, Severus and Ecclesius.

Built over a burial ground in use until the 4th century, it was dedicated to Sant’Apollinare, the first bishop of Ravenna, his remains reside in the Basilica.


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Ancient marble sarcophagi line both walls

Mausoleum of Theodoric

While not filled with mosaics this monument is rather incredible.

Mausoleum of Theoderic

Theodoric the Great was an Ostrogothic king that ruled Italy from AD 493 to 526. Considered a barbarian – as the Ostrogoths originated from outside the borders of the Roman Empire – the rule of Theodoric and the monumental buildings he erected in Ravenna defy the oft misused term “barbarian”.

Theodoric was entombed here after his death in AD 526 but his body was removed in AD 561 after Justinian condemned Arianism.

These have been described as handles for lifting the dome onto the building, all highly speculative. On the twelve square arches are the names of eight Apostles and four Evangelists

The mausoleum subsequently became an oratory and also served as a lighthouse. Silting caused by the nearby river saw the mausoleum mostly submerged until the nineteenth century.

The Mausoleum of Theodoric was built from carved stone (and not brick or large stone blocks). The stones were imported from Istria, including the solid circular stone that forms the roof of the building. This roof stone is 11 meters in diameter and around a meter thick – it remains unclear how this 230-ton stone was transported from Istria or lifted onto the top of the building.

It is said that lightning caused the crack in the dome

 

Theodoric is believed to have been buried in a sarcophagus made of red porphyry. If Theodoric’s body was actually here, it only remained for a short while before his bones were removed from the complex and scattered by the Byzantine general Flavius Belisarius, the mausoleum itself converted by Flavius Belisarius into a Christian oratory.

UNESCO

All eight buildings – the Mausoleum of Galla Placidia, the Neonian Baptistery, the Basilica of Sant’Apollinare Nuovo, the Arian Baptistery, the Archiepiscopal Chapel, the Mausoleum of Theodoric, the Church of San Vitale and the Basilica of Sant’Apollinare in Classe, constructed in the 5th and 6th centuries are UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

 

*Arianism is a Christological doctrine first attributed to Arius a Christian presbyter from Alexandria, Egypt.

Dante and Ravenna

 Ravenna
Nov 102022
 

November 8, 2022

 

Dante’s Tomb in Ravenna

I am a lover of Dante.  I have read Divina Commedia (The Divine Comedy) at a minimum, three times, which means I have only begun to read Dante.  I spent lockdown walking in my living room and reading aloud, the best way to read Dante in my humble opinion.

I will admit right here, however, that I have never read it properly, and that would be to read it in Italian.

I trust everyone knows what I am talking about, but if not: The Divine Comedy is an Italian narrative poem by Dante Alighieri. He began writing it in 1308 and finished in 1320, one year before he died.  It is considered the pre-eminent work in Italian literature and one of the greatest works of world literature. What many do not know is that it helped establish the Tuscan language, in which it is written, as the standardized Italian language. You may know it better by its three parts, often presented as three different books: Inferno, Purgatorio, and Paradiso.

Looking into the tomb of Dante

Dante was born in Florence and he remained devoted to his native city all his life.  Dante’s life in Florence was shaped by the long history of conflict between the imperial and papal partisans called, respectively, Ghibellines and Guelfs.  I will not go into that long story, that history lesson you will need to learn on your own.

In 1302 Dante was accused of corruption and financial wrongdoing and exiled from Florence for two years after he refused to pay a fine. Shortly thereafter he was banned for life and threatened with execution at the stake or beheading if he returned.

The interior of the church that held Dante’s funeral – San Francesco

After traveling through Lunigiana, Verona, and Treviso, Dante spent his final years in Ravenna, and I am here to take in the city where he is buried. Ravenna is where Dante spent his last years, taking part in the cultural life of the city and putting the finishing touches on Commedia (the original name of the work).

Dante’s funeral was held here in San Francesco

In this Romagna city, during the night in September 1321, the greatest poet of Italian literature died after a bout of malaria he contracted following a diplomatic mission to Venice.

During World War II, the casket containing Dante’s remains was removed from the marble tomb and hidden underground to protect his bones from bombing and looting.  However, a small packet of “Dante dust” and impressions taken of his skull can be found in the National Central Library of Florence.

The City of Ravenna has done a lot to tie itself to Dante.  You will find plaques all over town with Cantos and a reference to a corresponding building or site.

Walk Ravenna with the Divine Comedy

These are rather speculative, and maybe far-fetched, but anything that helps highlight the work of Dante can’t be all that bad in my opinion.  Here are a few of those places and the corresponding Canto.  I include them because it gives me a chance to show you some of the most amazing mosaics, the reason most come to visit Ravenna, and also to cite a Canto or two.

Basilica di Sant’Apollinare Nuovo

As I mentioned I think some of this is far-reaching so I am simply going to quote from the program the city has put together:

The mosaics of two processions face each other on the walls of the Basilica of S. Apollinare Nuovo: that of the Martyrs and that of the Virgins. This iconography seems to have inspired the procession of the twenty-four elders, all dressed in white and wearing wreaths of lilies on their heads who proceed solemnly two by tow in the griffin parade, where Dante meets Beatrice.

This is he who lay upon the breast of our Pelican, who from the cross elected him to bear the heavy charge.  Paradiso XXV vv. 112-114

The mosaic in the Dome of the Neonian Baptistery

Baptistery, also known as Neonian Baptistery, is the place where the Catholics from Ravenna were baptized. It has been a UNESCO World Heritage Monument since 1996 and it well represents Baptism as the gateway to Faith which Dante mentions in the fourth Canto – here he describes the Limbo of the unbaptized, where Virgilio himself is hosted.

I saw, above the many thousand lamps, a Sun that kindled each and everyone as ours lights up the sights we see above us – Paradiso XXIII vv 28-30

The apsidal basin of the Chapel of Sant’Andrea

The Sun Dante sees illuminates thousands of other lights is Christ, represented by the Cross “signum gloriae”. This Cross shines in the middle of the apse of the Archiepiscopal Chapel with the starry sky that seems to rotate around it.

As builds from branch to branch throughout the pine wood at the shore of Classe when Aeolus unleashes his Sirocco.  – Purgatorio XXVIII vv 19-21

As I said, I think the city is reaching, but it is a fun exploration nonetheless.  I will also apologize for the poor quality of the mosaics.  The locations they are found in have such low lighting as to make photography difficult, but definitely, heightens one’s sense of awe.

Works Representing Dante at the TAMO Mosaic Museum

This work by Enzo Babini consists of 35 terracotta medallions and is called “The Way of Dante”.
The pieces highlight the fundamental figures of Dante’s poem; Dante himself, Virgil, and Beatrice.

In the cloisters of the museum is an exhibit titled Mosaics of Inferno and Paradise. It is an exhibition of contemporary mosaic works dedicated to Dante and inspired by a few of the Canti from the Divine Comedy. There are 21 mosaics, created in 1965 by mosaicists from the Ravenna school.

The artists gave a stanza from the Canto they chose, I have given you a bit more than the one stanza to help further understand.

Inferno Canto XXXIV

An Excerpt:

The Emperor of the kingdom dolorous
From his mid-breast forth issued from the ice;
And better with a giant I compare

Consider now how great must be that whole,
Which unto such a part conforms itself.
Were he as fair once, as he now is foul,
And lifted up his brow against his Maker,
Well may proceed from him all tribulation.

Purgatorio Canto XXIII

An Excerpt:

“Spirits,” said he, “who as they go, perchance,
Their debt of duty pay.”  As on their road
The thoughtful pilgrims, overtaking some
Not known unto them, turn to them, and look,
But stay not; thus, approaching from behind
With speedier motion, eyed us, as they pass’d,
A crowd of spirits, silent and devout.
The eyes of each were dark and hollow: pale
Their visage, and so lean withal, the bones
Stood staring thro’ the skin.  I do not think
Thus dry and meagre Erisicthon show’d,
When pinc’ed by sharp-set famine to the quick.

Paradiso Canto XIV

 

An excerpt:

But he who takes his cross and follows Christ
Again will pardon me what I omit,
Seeing in that aurora lighten Christ.

From horn to horn, and ‘twixt the top and base,
Lights were in motion, brightly scintillating
As they together met and passed each other;

Thus level and aslant and swift and slow
We here behold, renewing still the sight,
The particles of bodies long and short,

The Divine Poet by Leonardo Pivi in the Art Museum of Ravenna