Today we drove through the Apennines right down to the east coast to visit Ravenna, which is noted for 5th and 6th century Byzantine mosaics. The drive took somewhat longer than intended, since parts of the motorway had been closed, without apparently much notice, for some sort of race, so many people were driving about in a confused way and the traffic was truly terrible. We were 45 minutes late in meeting our guide, which meant our visits were more rushed than they need have been. And the drive back also took much longer than expected.
Our first visit was to the Basilica of St. Vitale, a saint of whom I had never previously heard. This is not particularly surprising because he may not in fact have existed at all. All that seems to be known about him was that he was martyred by being tortured and then buried alive in a pit, possibly during the reign of the emperor Nero in the 1st century AD, or possibly some time in the 3rd century, or possibly even during the Diocletian persecutions early in the 4th century. He is the patron saint of Ravenna and according to local tradition, his octagonal Basilica stands on the place where he was buried alive.
The Basilica was started in 527 AD and is most famous for containing the largest and best preserved Byzantine mosaics outside Constantinople. Below is the one in the apse.
This one shows a Byzantine Christ, young and beardless and more like a pagan image of Apollo, seated on the globe. Angels stand on either side of him, and at his right hand (the left of the photo) he is handing a martyr’s crown to St Vitale. Although this isn’t my best photo of this mosaic, I included it because it shows the surroundings as well; every square inch of the surface is covered with glittering mosaics.
There is a very famous one which shows the Emperor Justinian, but I prefer this one of his wife, Empress Theodora.
She never visited Ravenna, so this probably looks nothing like her. She was Empress of the Eastern Roman Empire by virtue of the marriage to the Emperor Justinian. Various sources say she was the daughter of a priest, others say she was a circus performer, or a dancer, or even a prostitute. It seems that fake news is nothing new!
Very close to this Basilica is the Mausoleum of Galla Placidia.
It is tiny, in contrast to the Basilica, and is built in the shape of a Latin cross. It is also a century older than the Basilica, having been built between 425 and 430 AD, and was originally a chapel dedicated to St Lawrence of Rome.
Galla Placidia was the daughter of Emperor Theodosius. She was captured by the Visigoths (whose leader was called Alaric) and married Ataulf, Alaric’s successor. After Ataulf’s death, her brother persuaded her to marry Constantius, who became one of the two rulers of the western Roman Empire. Eventually, she became regent for her young son, and ruled the Western Roman Empire from 425 to 437. She died in 450.
The inside is rather dark, without windows, and so it is hard to photograph.
This panel shows the parable of the good shepherd, with the barrel vault above showing the deep blue of the night sky, full of stars.
We walked some distance through the town after that, to the Basilica of St Apollinaire Nuevo, yet another saint of whom I had never heard. He came from Antioch in Syria, and was the first Bishop of Ravenna. He faced constant persecution, and was exiled from Ravenna during the persecutions of Nero, or possibly Vespasian, or even possibly a later Emperor.
This Basilica was erected by the Arian Christians in the first quarter of the 6th century and re-consecrated to the Orthodox Church in 561. Arianism is now regarded as heresy; it related to Jesus Christ and the nature of the Trinity - Arianism is a non-trinitarian doctrine.
The Basilica was not originally dedicated to St Apollinaire, but to St Martin. It was only named for St Apollinaire when his bones were moved there from Classe in 856, so it was called Nuevo. We saw St Apollinaire in Classe later in the afternoon.
This church has a simple interior with three naves divided from one another by columns.
It is quite bright, especially when contrasted with the mausoleum we had previously visited. There is an unusual mosaic along one side.
The main mosaic here shows the visit of the three kings. What is unusual apparently at this time is the importance of Mary, who is shown here on a throne.
After this, we wandered about on our own for a while. We visited an Arian Baptistry, with a nice mosaic on the domed ceiling.
That’s the figure of the youthful beardless Christ being baptised by John the Baptist. I think it’s Arian because it’s a dove above him and not the hand of God, but most people, including me, find the arguments about Arianism and non-Arianism hard to follow! The baptism is surrounded by 12 apostles, 10 of them holding crowns, Paul holding 2 scrolls and Peter holding a key.
We walked next to see Dante’s tomb, which actually wasn’t built until 1780.
Dante was exhaled from Florence, and died in Ravenna in 1321 and was buried in a votive chapel. The pope ordered that his bones be removed to Florence in the early 16th century, but the Franciscans hid them and they were kept hidden until 1865 when they were placed in their current sarcophagus. The bones were buried in the adjacent garden to keep them safe from the bombing in World War 2.
We had hoped to see more, but after we had seen all this and eaten some lunch, it was time to rejoin the rest of our party. We then drove to Classe to see the other St Apollinaire. It is similar in shape inside to the other one in Ravenna.
This church dates from 549, but, unlike the other St Apollinaire, this one has always been dedicated to him. There are some rather dull mosaics of various different figures along the sides but the mosaic in the apse is attractive.
It shows Christ as the good shepherd, with 12 sheep, the 12 apostles. The crucifix above him has his head in the centre, but rather too tiny to see unless you are very close. The figures above the cross are Moses and Elijah.
Paul said he was rather tired of mosaics by then!
Outside is a nice statue of the Roman Emperor Augustus, looking very young and handsome.
He was very important to the area because he founded the port of Classe and was responsible for stationing the Roman fleet here. It’s no longer a port though - the sea has receded some miles.
After all this, we were all glad to get back in the bus and head back to Assisi, but the motorway was still blocked off in unexpected places and the journey back was just as long and even more confusing.
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