Ravenna

                Today we visited Ravenna which is the capital of the Emilia-Romagna region.  Similar to Venice, Ravenna was built on a series of small islands in a marshy lagoon.  We started our tour with the Basilica di San Vitale. It was one of the most important examples of early Christian Byzantine art and architecture in Western Europe. The church has an octagonal plan and is supposed to symbolize the seven days of the week plus the Day of the Resurrection and Eternal Life. The central section of the church is covered with mosaics. Above the triforia, sacrifices from the Old Testament are depicted. All of the mosaics were created in the Hellenistic-Roman tradition, so they are lively and imaginative, full of rich colors and they have a certain perspective. They have a very vivid portrayal of the landscape, plants and birds too. Inside of the triumphal arch there are fifteen mosaic medallions depicting Jesus and the twelve Apostles and Saint Gervasius and Saint Protasius. At the foot of the right wall is a mosaic depicting the East Roman Emperor Justinian I standing with court officials, Bishop Maximian, palatinae guards and deacons.

After the Basilica, we visited the Mausoleum di Galla Placidia. It is a Roman building, that is one of the eight UNESCO World Heritage sites. Formerly it was the oratory of the Church of the Holy Cross, but it now contains three sarcophagi. In the largest sarcophagus, the remains of Galla Placidia was believed to have been there, but it was accidentally burned in 1577. The sarcophagus to the right is attributed to Galla’s son, Emperor Valentinian III or her brother, Emperor Honorius. The one to the left is her husband, Emperor Constantius III. Mosaics cover the walls just like many other buildings we visited.

We then saw the Battistero Neoniano, which is the most ancient monument remaining in Ravenna. It is an octagonal building that was partly erected from a Roman bath. The octagonal design is seen in basically all Early Christian baptisteries, again the octagonal architecture is seen here. We see the number eight in a lot of the religious buildings in Ravenna. The original floor is about 3 meters underground now so you can no longer see the proper structure of the building. The center ceiling mosaic depicts John the Baptist baptizing Jesus; around the center is the procession of the twelve apostles. This is also one of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Ravenna.

We ended our tour with the Basilica di Sant’Apollinare Nuovo. It was the palace chapel of Ostrogoth King Theodoric the Great during his first quarter of rule, but then reconstructed under the rule of the Byzantine emperor Justinian I. On the upper side of the left wall are 13 mosaics depicting Jesus’ miracles and parables. On the upper side of the right wall are 13 mosaics depicting the Passion and Resurrection. The row of mosaics below the first 13 on both sides are haloed saints, prophets and evangelists (16 on each side). Below those on the left wall are 22 Virgins of the Byzantine period, with the Three Magi in the front moving towards the group of Madonna and Child surrounded by four angels. On the right wall are is a procession of 26 martyrs with Saint Partin and Sait Apollinaris in the front leading towards a group representing Christ enthroned by four angels. The mosaics in this building were stunning as well. Again this is one of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

I really enjoyed Ravenna. Out of all the towns we went to and all of the sites we visited, I found the buildings and decorations in Ravenna to be some of the most interesting. I am always fascinated by mosaics so I may be a little bit biased towards them, but I truly thought the mosaics we saw were gorgeous.