Today my study abroad journey took me to Ravenna, Italy while en route to Venice from Florence. Throughout Ravenna’s extensive history, it’s served as a capital city for both the Western Roman and Byzantine empires, as well as the Ostrogothic and Lombard kingdoms! That’s a lot of power-changes! So it would basically be a crime for our art history class miss out a visit here! One of the best ways to understand the history of Ravenna is to look at its mosaics, which is what we did.
Evidence of its classical Roman and Byzantine background can be found all over the city, and its crown jewel, the San Vitale Basilica, is one of the only surviving Byzantine structures outside of Instanbul. The real treasure of Ravenna, though, are its gorgeously extensive Byzantine mosaics that can be found in churches throughout the city. Now, I’ve seen a LOT of beautiful mosaics throughout France and Italy, but it was the Byzantines that started it all. It doesn’t matter how many mosaics you’ve seen before, you will not be prepared for the kaleidoscope of color that awaits you in the churches of Ravenna! I know I sure wasn’t!
We started our visit in Ravenna with a short tour of the Galla Placidia mausoleum, followed by a tour of the much bigger neighboring San Vitale basilica, and then the Baptistry of Neon. After a quick pasta lunch, we passed by Dante’s grave before moving on to our final stop at the New Saint Appolinare basilica.
Getting to Ravenna
Ravenna is a city near Italy’s east coast, about 2.5 hours south of Venice. It took us 2 hours to get to Ravenna from Florence by bus, and had no trouble getting into the city, as there weren’t a lot of tourists there in late October.
Mausoleo di Galla Placidia
The Mausoleo di Galla Placidia, or Galla’s Mausoleum is located was originally thought to be a prayer space for the emperor’s daughter and her family, though it later became her mausoleum when she died. Galla Placidia was known to be a patron of the arts, and so she comissioned a mosaic-maker to make the small space irradescent. I think she got her wish!
Since it is such a small building, you’ll likely have to wait in line to get in like we did. Meanwhile, some construction was going on outside, so my classmates and I were entertained by bulldozers digging up big hunks of plastic before it was time to go inside.
Immedietly upon entering, my previously set standards for mosaics were shattered. I spent a whole post raving about Rome’s mosaics, but move over Rome, Ravenna has you beat! I cannot even attempt to convey to you what kind of emotion the mausoleum elicited in me when I walked towards the center of the cross-shaped dome. The characters of the biblical stories portrayed shimmer and appear to move, but even more impressive are the geometric patterns the artists was able to achieve with only tiny cubes of glass!
The patterns basically hypnotized me. I staggered around the building in a wonder-fueled stupor. I couldn’t even register the professor talking. This is what I imagine an acid trip is like.
This sounds ingenuine, but I promise you no matter how hard I try to explain it, the only way to convey the beauty of the Galla’s Mausoleum interior is to show you through pictures:
the mosaic behind shows Saint Lawrence who is about to be grilled to death
San Vitale
Next it was time to visit Ravenna’s main attraction, and emperor Justinian’s pride and joy- the San Vitale basilica!
Our class spent awhile talking about the outside of the building, and how it’s a blend of classical Roman and Byzantine styles. The octagonal shape and domed roof are distinctly roman, while brick walls and flying buttresses (the arch-looking support beams) are Byzantine staples. It’s such a strange, layered-looking building and I’ve never seen anything like it!
Inside the San Vitale, I can barely even try to describe, I’ve used all my descriptive vocabulary for the mausoleum. Nearly every wall and ceiling space of the octagonal room is covered with shimmering gold, and the windows are placed just so the light reflects off of them and makes them radiant. The spaces that aren’t are paneled with layered marble that looks like flowers. Here, I’ll show you!
Baptistry of Neon
The Baptistry of Neon is actually the oldest remaining structure in Ravenna! It also contains, as you’d expect from Ravenna, a beautiful mosaic on its domed ceiling. It depicts Jesus being baptized by John in the center, with the river Jordan portrayed as a separate person. Huh, never seen that before!
Dante’s Grave
On the way from the Baptistry to our next mosaic, we passed by a garden, in the middle of which is a 5-foot mound covered in ivy. On a small placard at the base, it reads that thisis the grave of Dante! Supposedly, his bones aren’t there anymore, but I think a creepy mound of ivy is exactly the vibe Dante was going for.
Sant’Appolinare Nuovo Basilica
Sant’Appolinare Nuovo Basilica, or “New Saint Appolinare” was first built as an Arian church. Arianism is a branch off of Catholosicm, and although it was viewed as heretical, it was the religion of the Ostrogothic kingdom, whose king decided to erect the church.
Although lots of the original mosaics were destroyed for being “too arian”, you can still see little details of evidence, like how young Jesus is given an old man’s beard on the upper right side.
The most fascinating mosaics, however, stretch all the way down the left and right isles. On the right, a long row of women are following the 3 wise men towards the nativity from a house that has lots of mysterios hands poking out. On the left, a similar row of men (martyrs, I think) are parading towards Jesus and the angels from Ravenna. I always love when the city itself makes an appearance in its art! It feels so special.
After looking at the mosaics, then the wood paneled ceiling, then the cluttered altar, and then the seprate chapels, our professor gave us a little time to just think and sketch out our favorite parts of the chapel. Since you already know I can’t draw, I’ll save you from the pain of looking my sketches 😉
Practical info:
A combination ticket purchased from the Ravenna tourism office will give you access to all of the sights mentioned above (Mausoleo di Galla Placidia, San Vitale, Baptistry of Neon, and Sant’Appolinare Nuovo) plus the Archiepiscopal Museum and Chapel for around 11 euros pp. For more info, visit their website here!
My Verdict:
What do I think of Ravenna? I think it’s great! If you love UNESCO world heritage sites, then you’ll love it even more- I only visited 4, but there are actually 8 in total. I think that Ravenna is a perfect stop on the way between major cities like Venice and Bologna or Florence, but it can also be a good place to break up the journey, as there are no shortage of cafes and restaurants here too. You won’t need more than a day to explore Ravenna and its fantastic mosaics, though.
So what did you think? Which place had the best mosaics in Ravenna? Have you been, and if so, what’s your favorite part of the city? Let me know in the comments, I love to read them 🙂
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Where did she come from? (previous post)
Accidentally Watching a Parade in Florence, Italy
Where did she go?
On to Venice, Italy!