Ravenna, Italy - Part 2

Mosaic is a style of artwork where images are created by assembling pieces of coloured glass or stone. In our previous visit to Jordan, we had visited a mosaic factory and witnessed the labour intensive task of individually cutting and gluing pieces of material to create beautiful masterpieces. Our visit to Ravenna was driven by a desire to see the UNESCO listed Byzantine era mosaics. For conservation reasons, we were not allowed to photograph some artworks, but the memories of their colour, scale and beauty will stay with us for ever.



Basilica di San Vitale
After breakfast, we headed straight for the Basilica, located at the end of the street to where our accommodation was located. To enter, a ticket needs to be purchased from the a shop up the road and since we had the intent to visit many of the UNESCO sites, we chose the multi-site pass.

The Basilica di San Vitale

We entered using a gate near the front garden, passing an attendant who checked and marked off this site from the list on the ticket.

Entry gate

Construction of the Basilica began in 526AD and it has cultural importance as the only major church from the period of the Emperor Justinian I to survive intact. After entering and allowing your eyes to adjust to the natural light streaming through the windows, we were in awe at the size of the building and the richness of the artworks adorning the walls, archways and support columns.

The artwork represents stories from the Old Testament, cities of Jerusalem and Bethlehem and on the inside of the triumphal arch are fifteen mosaic medallions that include Jesus Christ, the 12 Apostles and the saints of Ravenna.

The two most famous mosaic panels represent the Emperor Justinian and his Empress Theodora with their entourage. These panels were executed in 547 and represent the divine reverence that was held for the leaders of the Empire.

Mausoleum of Galla Placidia
At the back of the Basilica and occupying the same site, was the Mausoleum of Galla Placidia which is also a UNESCO listed historical building.

The Mausoleum of Galla Placidia

An attendant stood at the doorway, limiting the number of visitors inside as it was a small space. When it was our turn to enter, the first thing noticed was the complete coverage of the walls and ceiling in mosaics - dominated by blue, red and gold colours.

The interior of the building is shaped as a cross and the mosaics represent religious symbols, the Apostles and Christ as a shepherd tending his flock.

The building is named after the three sarcophagi that are held inside, thought to have held remains of Galla Placidia (died in 450AD), daughter of the Emperor Theodosius I; and also her male relatives who were also Emperors.

Church of San Domenico

This site was not part of the UNESCO heritage list, but whilst walking through the center of town, we passed by a sign advertising for a historic exhibition. The archives of the Archdiocese of Ravenna-Cervia is a rich collection spanning two thousand years of history and is regarded as the oldest archive in Europe. A small fee was payable for entry, but we were able to view historic examples of writing, rare books and manuscripts from around the world.

A Bible in Latin and Arabic dating to 1671 AD.

A religious book from 1503 AD

Archbishop Rinaldo's gloves from 1321 AD

Works by Dante Alighieri, 18th November 1491 AD

Extracts of text about evidence given to a magistrate
in June 557 AD

A historic document detailing a sale of land

Baptistry of Neon

Number 3 of the UNESCO listed sites, the Baptistry was underwhelming in decoration but is culturally important as the most ancient monument in the city, having been built on the site of a Roman bath around the 5th century AD. The ceiling is decorated with a mosaic showing John the Baptist baptizing Jesus in the River Jordan. The baptistry well is now used as a wishing well with many people throwing coins into it for good luck.

Bishop Chapel
Next to the Baptistry of Neon (UNESCO site number 4), is the Bishop Chapel. We did not have the best sense of directions and entered the incorrect door that took us via a scenic route into a Baroque style marble Church instead of the entrance to the Archiepiscopal Museum of Ravenna.

The Baroque style church

Alter decorated with oil paintings

The Archbishop's Chapel on the first floor of the Bishop's Palace was number 4 on our UNESCO visit list and dates back to the 6th Century. The site was small and photos were not permitted.

Dante's Tomb

Dante Alighieri was a famous poet from the 13th Century and his tomb is located in Ravenna down a cobblestone laneway. We made a short detour to see this famous site, having seen an interpretation of his work painted in the dome of Florence's Duomo.

Basilica of Sant' Apollinare Nuovo

The Basilica of Sant' Apollinare Nuovo (UNESCO site number 5) was originally constructed as the palace chapel of King Theodoric the Great in the 6th century.

The main hall is ringed by twenty-four columns with Corinthian capitals and walls decorated with mosaics of Jesus' miracles, events from the Bible. By this time we were suffering from mosaic fatigue and after some token photos to record the visit, we were off to the next site.

The Arian Baptistery
The second Baptistery (UNESCO site number 6) on our visit list was located in a courtyard near a couple of restaurants. The entrance was below street level (2.3 metres due to ground movement over the centuries) and a fairly disinterested guard checked our ticket and let us inside.

The most impressive feature of the octagonal building was the ceiling. The artwork showing the Apostles was clearly visible due to the sunlight streaming through windows on the top level. 

Mausoleum of Theoderic 
In the early evening, we reached the site of the Mausoleum of Theoderic the Great, Emperor of the Ostrogoths. Although the site (the 7th and last UNESCO site we visited) had closed for the day, we were able to take photos of the building from the fence-line, a great idea at the time until we realised that we had become food for mosquitoes hidden in the long grass.

Ca de Ven Restaurant

A day spent actively sightseeing deserves a hearty meal with plenty of wine. We spotted the restaurant Ca de Ven and looked up references on TripAdvisor that came back as overwhelmingly positive. We probably could have skipped the entrees of perfectly cooked pasta and gone straight for the seafood mains - tuna steak and fried anchovies, but our eyes were bigger than our stomachs and we washed it all down with great wine so no complaining here.

Taking the scenic route walking back to our accommodation, we passed by an outdoor poetry concert and would have stayed to listen, except there wasn't a chair spare. Instead we headed to bed, with an early start the next day to the coastal town of Rimini.

Next blog post:

Rimini, Italy

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