Ancient Ravenna

1. Ancient Ravenna

2. Table of contents

Origins and Roman era

Late antiquity: capital of the Empire of the
West

Ostrogoth Ravenna

Byzantin Ravenna

Dante

3. Origins and Roman era

Unknown origins

Etruscan name

Augustus

402: Capital of West Empire

476: Fall of Roman Empire – Odoacer

4. Ostrogoth and Byzantin era

476: Fall of Roman Empire – Odoacer

493-527: Theoderic

553: Justinian

5. Mausoleum of Galla Placidia

Middle IVth century

Latin cross

Burial place

Subsiding of the
ground

Simple exterior vs.
rich interior

Mosaics in bright
colours: animals,
flowers, fruit,
symbolic scenes,
starred night sky

6. Sant'Apollinare Nuovo
Upper zone mosaics: 26
scenes relating to the
miracles and passion of
Christ
Second zone mosaics:
male figures between the
windows
Lower zone mosaics:
Processions of martyrs and
female saints, Palace of
Theoderic and City of
Classe, groups of Christ

7. Sant'Apollinare Nuovo

Built by Theoderic
(493-527) as a
Palatine church of
Arian religion

Of the ancient
construction only the
mosaics are left

They enfold in three
large bands.

8. San Vitale
• Started in 526 A.D and finished in 547 A.D
• Built with ‘Giulianei’
• Walls and ceilings covered in bright mosaics
• In the apse there is a teophanic
scene with Christ and San Vitale,
which is echoed lower down
by Emperor Justinian and
Empress Theodore with their
court.

9. Sant'Apollinare in Classe
• Consacrated shortly
afterwards San
Vitale by Bishop
Maximilian.
• Far from Ravenna
and from the sea,
where one time
stood on.
• Three mosaics : the
upper one shows
Christ and the four
Evangelists, the one
below a latin cross
in a night sky, the
third one S.

10. Domus of rock carpet
The Domus is an
underground space
(3 meters below the
road level) which
hosts the mosaics of
a Byzantine palace
dating the 6th
century A.D.

11. Dante Alighieri
Dante Alighieri is a
famous Italian poet
of the Middle Ages,
he was born around
1265 in Florence and
he died in 1321 in
Ravenna, and now
his tomb is next to
the church of S.
Francesco. His
Divine Comedy,
originally called La
Comedia and later
called Divina by
Boccaccio, is widely
-->

12. Dante's grave

13. Quiz
1) Which site is it?
Sant'Apollinare Nuovo
San Vitale
Sant'Apollinare in Classe

14. 2) Which monument is it?
San Vitale
Sant'Apollinare
Galla Placidia
Dante's tomb

15. 3) Which monument is it?
Galla Placidia
San Vitale
Sant'Apollinare Nuovo
Dante's Tomb

16. 4) Which monument is it?
San Vitale
The Domus
Dante's Tomb
Sant'Apollinare Nuovo

17. 5) Which monument is it?
Galla Placidia
San Vitale
Sant'Apollinare in Classe
The Domus

18. e la popa volta vers lo matí,
dels rems fahem ales a aquell foll vol,
tostems guanyant del costat de garbí.
126
Tots los estells ja d’aquell altro poll
veia en la nit, e·l nostro atant bas,
que no s’alsava fors del marí sol.
129
Cinch veus reencès e altres tantes caç
era lo lum tot desots de la luna,
puys que nós fom entrats en cell alt pas,
132
quant nós vehem una montanya, bruna
per la distança, e parech alta tant
com n’agués may jo vista ja alguna.
135
Alagram-nós, mas tost tornà en plant;
car de lla nova terra un torb2 nasqué
e ferí fort lo leny del primer qant.
138
En les ondes tres veus girar lo fé;
a la quarta levà la popa ensús
<--