Ravenna. Arts Centre. Capital of mosaics. An ancient city which, 1600 years ago, was three times capital: of the Western Empire, of Theodoric, king of the Goths, and of the Byzantine empire in Europe.
History, art and culture
The magnificence of that period has left Ravenna a great inheritance of buildings: eight of them have been declared World Heritage by UNESCO.
Mosaics were not invented in Ravenna, but it was here that they found the broadest expression. It was here that they became a Christian art form, a mixture of symbolism and realism, of Roman and Byzantine influences.
This ancient art form still lives today in the schools and studios of Ravenna.
Ravenna is Roman, Gothic, and Byzantine. But it is also mediaeval, Venetian, as well as contemporary, urbane, and hospitable. Its many cultural events and internationally-recognised exhibitions serve to project Ravenna towards the future.
Nor must be forgotten that Ravenna is on the sea. With nine beaches and thirty-five kilometres of coastline, it offers a surprising variety of opportunities for the countless tourists who have chosen it as the ideal place for their holidays.
And Ravenna also has one of the biggest green belts in the northern Italy. The fascinating wilderness of Punta Alberete, the silence of the Po Delta (with its rare species of flora and fauna), the St Vitalis Pinewood, the planes, and Classis Pinewood, are all areas of outstanding natural beauty.
The charm of this unforgettable city, so close to the sea and so evocative of different historical periods, continues to be unsurpassed over time.
Early Christian buildings
The Mausoleum of Galla Placidia
Mausoleo di Galla Placidia
The structure and images of the mausoleum of Empress Galla Placidia serve to remind us of the death of an imperial princess who was completely involved in the history of the Empire under her father Theodosius the Great.
Galla Placidia thought the glory of the Christian Roman Empire was expressed by the Holy Cross. This is why her mausoleum, laid out in the shape of a Latin cross, has a cross at its very centre.
Catholic Baptistery
Esterno Battistero Neoniano
Its merit is to be found in its mosaics and wonderful stuccoes of the four major and twelve minor Prophets.
There are three levels of mosaics in this baptistery: the central one, with Our Lord being baptised by St John in the River Jordan; the central one, with images of the twelve Apostles being led in two processions by Ss Peter and Paul; and the third one with the empty throne and chairs as the suggested architecture of the heavenly paradise, awaiting us for the eternal life.
Particolare della cupola
Whereas the Arian baptistery has only the first two series, the Catholic one (more properly called “Neonian,” because it was ordered by Archbishop Neon in approximately 458) additionally has the symbols of paradise and the Prophets in its stuccoes.
St Apollinaris-the-New
La Basilica
St Apollinaris-the-New, of all the basilicas of Ravenna, is the one most laden with history. Indeed, its history in the 6th century is a synthesis of the Ostrogoth Kingdom under Theodoric and the Empire under Justinian.
The glory of his power has been depicted in the great pictures of the Palatium (for the city of Ravenna) and the Portus (for the city of Classis).
Particolare mosaico Madonna
There are so many mosaics of ancient cities, but none are like the idea of Theodoric, who shows Ravenna dominated by his palace and court.
Theodoric, who celebrated the classical learning of the Greece and Rome alongside the culture of the Goths, wanted to show himself wedded to the political power of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King, Who has been placed on the right-hand wall, flanked by four Archangels.
It was in the magnificent display, between the windows, of thirty-six figures of Prophets, Apostles, and Evangelists, with their codices, books, and papers, that Theodoric sought to legitimise the prestige of his culture and his power.
Arian Baptistery
Particolare del Fiume Giordano
The Arian Baptistery is a liturgical building of octagonal shape where splendid mosaics can be admired. They are almost certainly from the 5th-6th century.
There are only two levels of mosaics, showing the Baptism of Our Lord in the River Jordan, an evident imitation of the Catholic baptistery. There are no altars and thrones in this baptistery, except for one seen in the east. Here the Apostles, carrying their crowns of life/glory/victory (just as in the other baptistery), are not carrying candles (symbols of light), but palms (symbols of life).
This main difference can be explained in two ways: first of all, the Christ of the Arians does not come from the east, but goes towards the east; secondly, a dove spouts water over His head. Not fire. Not the Holy Ghost.
According to the Arian heresy, a Christ going towards the east only becomes God at the moment of His Baptism in the Jordan, and is deified by those primordial waters. Water is the primordial creature of regeneration over which the Spirit of God has breathed.
The Archbishop’s Chapel
L’esterno della Cappella Arcivescovile
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 Mausoleum of Theodoric
Mausoleo di Teodorico
This mysterious building – never fully understood – was ordered by the Gothic king Theodoric in AD 520 close to the barbarian necropolis as his burial place.
An example of the style of later antiquity, its monumental size well represents the power and spirit of Theodoric. It was built using enormous blocks of stone from Istria, and extends to two floors.
Covered with a great monolith thirty-six feet in diameter, three feet thick, and weighing more than 300 tonnes, it is probably one of the greatest monoliths in the world to be used as a cupola.
Basilica of St Vitalis
L’Abside
The Basilica of St Vitalis, work on which was begun by Archbishop Ecclesius (526-34) under the Goths in 527, was completed by Archbishop Maxinianus in 548 under Byzantine rule.
Its layout is an octagon, and it is the most marvellous example of Byzantine architecture, as filtered by Roman/Ravenna building techniques. The boldness of its construction and the decoration of its mosaics are a perfect marriage, unique throughout the world.
The mosaics in the Basilica of St Vitalis are certainly the most organically important in all late imperial Christian art.
The unity and perfection of its style marries perfectly the sublimity of a political/religious ideal. Above the sanctuary can be seen the unity of Church and Empire, of Empire and Priesthood and, above the apse, between Jerusalem and Bethlehem, is a symbol of the sun, with an alpha at its centre: an ideological reference to Our Lord, Maker of the world and of time.
Everything is framed by decorative motifs with perfect colours.
St Apollinaris at Classis
Le colonne
St Apollinaris at Classis is the most distinguished liturgical building in Ravenna, because of its age and its location; only Rome has older churches.
Indeed, this Basilica is a monument to the Apostolic Succession of the early Church.
The imposing building we see today was built on historic foundations as a shrine to the Martyr Apollinaris in the early 6th century.
Above the centre of this basilica, where the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass is offered, the apse mosaics show one of the best-known theophanies of early Christendom: the Transfiguration.
The Holy Cross after the Resurrection occupies a dominant position to represent Our Lord Himself transfigured.
The Transfiguration is a foretelling of the Paschal mysteries, a symbol of sacrifice, the Eucharist, the Lamb of God and the Cross: the hand of God the Father receives the Eucharistic sacrifice offered at Mass.
UNESCO INSCRIPTION
From the 20th report of the World Heritage Committee:
Early Christian buildings in Ravenna
Inscription N° 788 – 1997 C (i) (ii) (iii) (iv)
The Committee has decided to inscribe this item on the basis of criteria (i) (ii) (iii) and (iv), in view of the fact that the array of early Christian buildings in Ravenna is of immense importance, owing to the supreme artistic mastery shown in its mosaics.
They are also important proof of artistic and religious connections and contacts during an important period in European culture.
The original name for the inscription has been changed to “Early Christian buildings in Ravenna.” The eight buildings for which Ravenna has been included in the World Heritage List are:
- The Mausoleum of Galla Placidia
- Catholic Baptistery
- Arian Baptistery
- St Apollinaris-the-New
- The Archbishop’s Chapel
- The Mausoleum of Theodoric
- Basilica of St Vitalis
- St Apollinaris at Classis
The Church of Ss. Nazarius and Celsus, thought to have been the Mausoleum of Galla Placidia is a small, sober building, laid out in the shape of a Latin cross. This completely hides the riches contained within: the Christian mosaics represent the victory of life over death. The Catholic Baptistery, dedicated by Archbishop Neon (449-52), is sometimes called the Orthodox Baptistery, to distinguish it from the Arian one ordered by Theodoric, king of the Goths. The marbles of the socle seem to have been taken from secular buildings, and these added to the splendour of stuccoes, and the mosaics of the cupola. During the high point of Gothic rule during the 4th century, the Arian Baptistery came about. Its layout is an octagon, with a cupola decorated by a mosaic depicting the Baptism of Our Lord, Whom the Arian Gnostics denied was the Son of God. When Theodoric was still reigning, he ordered the Basilica of St Apollinaris at Classis to be built for the Arians, although it was later to become a Catholic Church. The walls of the nave are completely covered in mosaics. The upper part shows scenes from the life and passion of Our Lord, and the lower part contains stunning processions of Martyrs and Virgins from the Byzantine period. The Mausoleum of Theodoric, a decagonal structure, is the monument that reveals Roman art in its purest form, at once austere and graceful. Built using enormous blocks of stone from Istria, it extends to two floors. Covered with a great monolith thirty-six feet in diameter, three feet thick, and weighing more than 300 tonnes, it is probably one of the greatest monoliths in the world to be used as a cupola. The Chapel of the Archiepiscopal Palace of St Peter Chrysologus was the only Orthodox building during the reign of Theodoric. The mosaics it contains depict the fight against the heresy of Arius, and Our Lord is portrayed as a warrior. The Basilica of St Vitalis is one of the purest examples of early Christian art in Italy, a sort of transition from classical to Byzantine architecture.
It is a work of the architect Julianus Argentarius, with an octagonal structure of nearly 114 feet in diameter. The outside is an extremely rich alternation between different architectural shapes. The inside is of surprising beauty, owing to the originality of its layout, its marble coverings, and mosaics. The sanctuary is the most precious part, because of the richness of its mosaics, with an iconography based upon sacred liturgy. A mere five kilometres from Ravenna, outside the walls of the ancient port, is the Basilica of St Apollinaris at Classis. The church, a basilica from 549 with a cylindrical bell tower, dominates the surrounding countryside. The interior is solemn and grandiose; the apse mosaics represent Ravenna’s patron saint preaching, surrounded by views of Ravenna.
