Ravenna
is a truly special place
You may easily visit Byzantine and world heritage monuments on foot.
Ravenna is not just an art town, in fact it offers its visitors events, theatres, culture, fine wine and food and shopping opportunities. From this "hotel de charme" you can also undertake excursions to the hilly hinterland, the Po delta valleys or the local Riviera beaches.
You may easily visit Byzantine and world heritage monuments on foot.
Ravenna is not just an art town, in fact it offers its visitors events, theatres, culture, fine wine and food and shopping opportunities. From this "hotel de charme" you can also undertake excursions to the hilly hinterland, the Po delta valleys or the local Riviera beaches.
Ravenna
is the site of 8 world heritage sites (Early
Christian Monuments of Ravenna)
The Basilica of Sant' Apollinare in Classe is an important monument of Byzantine art in Ravenna, Italy. When the UNESCO inscribed eight Ravenna sites on the World Heritage List, it cited this basilica as "an outstanding example of the early Christian basilica in its purity and simplicity of its design and use of space and in the sumptuous nature of its decoration".
The imposing brick structure was erected by order of Bishop Ursicinus (Ursicino), using money from the Greek banker, Iulianus Argentarius. It was certainly located next to a Christian cemetery, and quite possibly on top of a pre-existing pagan one, as some of the ancient tombstones were re-used in its construction.
The exterior has a large façade with two simple uprights and one mullioned window with three openings. The narthex and building to the right of the entry are later additions, as is the fine 10th century bell tower.
The interior contains 24 columns of Greek marble, which terminate in a green mosaic of meadows and sheep. The faded frescos depict some of the archbishops of Ravenna, and date to the 18th century. The lateral walls are bare, but were certainly once covered with gorgeous mosaics. These were likely demolished by the Venetians in 1449, although they left the mosaic decoration in the apse and on the triumphal arch in situ.
The Basilica of San Vitale is the most famous monument of Ravenna, Italy and is one of the most important examples of Byzantine Art and architecture in western Europe. The building is one of eight Ravenna structures inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List.
The basilica was begun by Bishop Ecclesio in 527, when Ravenna was under the rule of the Ostrogoths, and completed by the 27th Bishop of Ravenna, Maximian in 548 during the Byzantine Exarchate of Ravenna. The architect of this church is unknown, but he was certainly among the best architects of his time.
According to legend, the church was erected on the site of the martyrdom of Saint Vitalis. However, there is some confusion as to whether this is the Saint Vitalis of Milan, or the Saint Vitale whose body was discovered together with that of Saint Agricola, by Saint Ambrose in Bologna in 393.
The construction of the church was sponsored by a Greek banker, Iulianus Argentarius, of whom very little is known, except that he also sponsored the construction of the Basilica of Sant' Apollinare in Classe at around the same time. The final cost amounted to 26,000 gold pieces. The true sponsor may have been the Byzantine Emperor, who used such church construction projects as propaganda and as a way of speeding the incorporation of new territory into the Empire.
The central section is surrounded by two superposed ambulatories. The upper one, the matrimoneum, was reserved for married women. A series of mosaics in the lunettes above the triforia, depict sacrifices from the Old Testament : the story of Abraham and Melchizedek, and the Sacrifice of Isaac; the story of Moses and the Burning Bush, Jeremiah and Isaiah, representatives of the twelve tribes of Israel, and the story of Abel and Cain. A pair of angels, holding a medallion with a cross, crowns each lunette. On the side walls the corners, next to the mullioned windows, have mosaics of the Four Evangelists, under their symbols (angel, lion, bull and eagle), and dressed in white. Especially the portrayal of the lion is remarkable in its feral ferocity.
The cross-ribbed vault in the presbytery is richly ornamented with mosaic festoons of leaves, fruit and flowers, converging on a crown encircling the Lamb of God. The crown is supported by four angels, and every surface is covered with a profusion of flowers, stars, birds and animals, including many peacocks. Above the arch, on both sides, two angels hold a disc and beside them a representation of the cities of Jerusalem and Bethlehem. They symbolize the human race (Jerusalem representing the Jews, and Bethlehem the Gentiles).
All these mosaics are executed in the Hellenistic-Roman tradition : lively and imaginative, with rich colours and a certain perspective, and with a vivid depiction of the landscape, plants and birds. They were finished when Ravenna was still under Gothic rule.
The apse is flanked by two chapels, the prothesis and the diaconicon, typical for Byzantine architecture.
Inside, the intrados of the great triumphal arch is decorated with fifteen mosaic medallions, depicting Jesus Christ, the twelve Apostles and Saint Gervasius and Saint Protasius, the sons of Saint Vitale.
The theophany was began in 525 under bishop Ecclesius. It has a great gold fascia with twining flowers, birds, and horns of plenty. Jesus Christ appears, seated on a blue globe in the summit of the vault, robed in purple, with his right hand offering the martyr's crown to Saint Vitale. On the left, Bishop Ecclesius offers a model of the church.
At the foot of the apse side walls are two famous mosaic panels, executed in 548, depicting the Emperor Justinian, clad in purple with a golden halo, standing next to court officials, Bishop Maximian, praetorian guards and deacons. The halo around his head gives him the same aspect as Christ in the dome of the apse. he is surrounded by the symbols of his power on Earth and by symbols of his spiritual power. This shows that the imperial rule of the Romans had turned in the Byzantine theocratic rule.
On the other side is Empress Theodora solemn and formal, with golden halo, crown and jewels, and a train of court ladies. She is almost depicted as a goddess. These panels are almost the only surviving examples of Byzantine secular mosaic art, and offer a glimpse into the glory, splendour and pomp of the Byzantine world.
The Basilica of San Vitale inspired the design of the church of the Saints Sergio's and Bacchus in Constantinople, then was the model used by Charlemagne for his Palatine Chapel in Aachen in 805, and centuries later its dome was the inspiration for Filippo Brunelleschi in the design for the dome of the Duomo of Florence.
The Mausoleum of Galla Placidia is a highly important Byzantine mausoleum in Ravenna, Italy. It is one of the eight structures in Ravenna that were inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1996. As the UNESCO experts reasoned, "it is the earliest and best preserved of all mosaic monuments, and at the same time one of the most artistically perfect".
Built in 425-430 AD, the structure is designed in the shape of a Greek cross, and has a cupola that is entirely in mosaics, representing eight apostles and symbolical figures of doves drinking from a vessel.
The building contains three sarcophagi; the largest is said to have been that of Galla Placidia, and that her embalmed body was deposited there in a sitting position, clothed with the imperial mantle; in 1577, however, the contents of the sarcophagus were accidentally burned. The sarcophagus to the right is attributed to Emperor Valentinian III or to Galla Placidia's brother, Emperor Honorius. The one on the left is attributed to Galla Placidia's husband, Emperor Constantius III.
In fact this building was the oratory of a wider church: the Holy Cross.
The Arian Baptistery in Ravenna, Italy was erected by Ostrogothic King Theodoric the Great between the end of the 5th century and the beginning of the sixth century. It is thus contemporary with the Basilica of Sant' Apollinare Nuovo.
In 565, after the condemnation of the Arian cult, this small octagonal brick structure was converted into a Catholic oratory named Santa Maria. Greek monks added a monastery during the period of the Exarchate of Ravenna and further dedicated the structure to Saint Maria in Cosmedin.
The Baptistery is octagonal in shape; inside are four niches and a dome with mosaics, depicting the baptism of Jesus by Saint John the Baptist. Jesus is shown beardless and naked, half-submerged in the Jordan. John the Baptist is wearing a leopard skin. On the left stands a pagan god in the guise of a white-haired, old man in a green cloak, holding a leather bag. He is the personalisation of the river Jordan. Above, the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove sprays lustral water from its beak.
Below, a procession of the Apostles, led in separate directions by Saint Peter and Saint Paul circle the dome, meeting at a throne with a jewelled crucifix resting on a purple cushion.
It took the artists several years to complete these mosaics, as can be clearly seen from the different colours of the stones used to depict the grass at the feet of the apostles.
The entire composition is remarkably similar to that of the Orthodox Baptistery of Neon. The walls are bare, but were not always so. During archaeological investigations, some 170 kilograms of tessera were found on the floor.
The Arian Baptistery is located next to the Church of Spirito Santo, also built by Theodoric and originally named Hagia Anastasis (Holy Resurrection). This was an Arian cathedral, and it was re-consecrated as the Catholic cathedral of Saint Teodoro (soldier and martyr of Amasea in Porto) in 526. Little remains of the original church after its reconstruction in 1543; some historians speculate that the original mosaics were already lost over a thousand years earlier during its Catholic reconstruction due to Arian themes.
The Baptistry is one of the eight structures in Ravenna registered as UNESCO World Heritage Sites.[1] According to the ICOMOS evaluation of this patrimony, "the iconography of the mosaics, whose quality is outstanding, is of importance in that it illustrates the Trinity, a somewhat unexpected element in the art of an Arian building, since the Trinity was not accepted in this doctrine".
The Baptistery of Neon (in Italian: Battistero Neoniano) in Ravenna, Italy is the most ancient monument remaining in Ravenna, and was partly erected on the site of a Roman bath. It is also called the Orthodox Baptistery to distinguish it from the Arian Baptistery constructed on behest of Ostrogothic King Theodoric some 50 years later.
The octagonal brick structure was erected by Bishop Ursus between the end of the 4th and beginning of the 5th century, as part of his great Basilica (destroyed in 1734).
The ceiling mosaic depicts John the Baptist baptising an old, bearded Jesus standing waist high in the Jordan River, which is shown in the veils. To one side stands an old pagan water god with a reed in one hand and a garment in the other. A procession of the twelve apostles proceeds around the centre mosaic in two directions, ending with Saint Peter meeting Saint Paul.
The Baptistery is one of the eight structures in Ravenna registered as UNESCO World Heritage Sites. According to the ICOMOS evaluation of this patrimony, "this is the finest and most complete surviving example of the early Christian baptistery" which "retains the fluidity in representation of the human figure derived from Greco-Roman art".
The Archbishop's Chapel is the only liturgical building of the ancient bishops which has come down to us. The Oratory at St. John Lateran and the oratories of all ancient bishops have disappeared; only in Ravenna have these wonders of ancient art being preserved. The learned Archbishop St Peter Chrysologus (433-449), who ordered the twenty mosaic hexameters in the atrium, ordered an image of Our Lord as a soldier to be placed on the door, victoriously carrying His Cross in triumph as in the mausoleum of Galla Placidia.
This warrior Christ, Who tramples the Arian heresy underfoot, is an indictment of Theodoric's Arian rule.
The Basilica of Sant' Apollinare Nuovo is a church in Ravenna, Emilia-Romagna (Italy). It was erected by the Arian King Theodoric as his palace chapel, during the first quarter of the 6th century (as attested in the Liber Pontificalis). This Arian church was originally dedicated to Christ the Redeemer.
It was reconsecrated in 561, under the rule of the Byzantine emperor Justinian I, under the new name "Sanctus Martinus in Coelo Aureo" (Saint Martin in golden Heaven). Suppressing the Arian cult, the church was dedicated to Saint Martin of Tours, the implacable foe of heretics.
Its apse and atrium underwent modernization at various times, beginning in the 6th century with the destruction of mosaics whose themes were too overtly Arian or which expressed the king's glory, but the mosaics of the lateral walls, twenty-four columns with simplified Corinthian capitals, and an ambo are preserved. Renovations (and alterations) were done to the mosaics in the mid-1800s by Felice Kibel. The present apse is a reconstruction after being damaged during World War II.
On the upper band of the left lateral wall are 13 small mosaics, depicting Christ's miracles and parables; and on the right wall are 13 mosaics depicting the Passion and Resurrection. However, the flagellation and crucifixion are lacking. They describe the parts of the Bible that were read aloud in the church during Lent under the rule of Theodoric the Great. On the left, Christ is always depicted as young, beardless man, dressed as a Roman Emperor. On the right, Christ is depicted with a beard. For the Arians, this emphasized that Christ grew older and became a "man of sorrows," as spoken of by the prophet Isaiah. These mosaics are separated by decorative mosaic panels depicting a shell-shaped niche with a tapestry, cross, and two doves. These mosaics were executed by at least two artists. But such an arrangement, just below the ceiling, would have been unthinkable in later Romanesque or Gothic periods.
The next row of mosaics are a scheme of haloed saints, prophets and evangelists, sixteen on each side. The figures are executed in a Hellenistic-Roman tradition and show a certain individuality of expression as compared to the other figures in the basilica. Each individual depicted holds a code, book or scroll and, like many of the other figures throughout the basilica, each of their robes has a mark or symbol in it. These mosaics alternate with windows. They were executed in the time of Theodoric.
The row below contains large mosaics in Byzantine style, lacking any individuality, having all identical expressions. These were executed about 50 years after the time of bishop Agnellus, when the church had already become a Catholic church. To the left is a procession of the 22 Virgins of the Byzantine period, lead by the Three Magi, moving from the city of Classe towards the group of the Madonna and Child surrounded by four angels. To the right is a similar procession of 26 Martyrs, led by Saint Martin and including Saint Apollinare, moving from the Palace of Theodoric towards a group representing Christ enthroned amid four angels. This lower band, containing a schematic representation of the Palatium on the right wall and the port of Classe with three ships on the left wall, gives us a certain idea of the architecture in Ravenna during the time of Theodoric. In another part of the church there is a rough mosaic containing the portrait of the Emperor Justinian.
The entrance of the church is preceded by a marble portico built in the 16th century. Next to the church, on the right side of the portico, stands a round bell tower dating from the 9th or 10th century.
When the UNESCO inscribed the church on the World Heritage List, its experts pointed out that "both the exterior and interior of the basilica graphically illustrate the fusion between the western and eastern styles characteristic of the late 5th to early 6th century. This is one of the most important buildings from the period of crucial cultural significance in European religious art".
The Mausoleum of Theodoric (Italian: Mausoleo di Teodorico) is an ancient monument just outside Ravenna, Italy. It was built in 520 by Theodoric the Great as his future tomb.
Its current structure is divided into two decagonal orders, one above the other and both made of Istria stone. Its roof is a single 300-ton Istrian stone, 10 meters in diameter. A niche leads down to a room which was probably a chapel for funeral liturgies. A stair leads to the upper floor. Located in the centre of the floor is a circular porphyry tub, in which Theodoric was supposed to be buried.
It was inscribed with seven other "Early Christian Monuments and Mosaics of Ravenna" buildings as one of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites in 1996. According to the ICOMOS evaluation, "the significance of the mausoleum lies in its Gothic style and decoration, which owe nothing to Roman or Byzantine art" and in the fact that "it is the only surviving example of a tomb of a barbarian king of this period".
