Although it is an inland city, Ravenna is connected to theAdriatic Seaby theCandiano Canal. It is known for its well-preserved late Roman and Byzantine architecture, with eight buildings comprising theUNESCOWorld Heritage Site"Early Christian Monuments of Ravenna".[5]
The origin of the nameRavennais unclear. Some have speculated that "Ravenna" is related to "Rasenna" (or "Rasna"), the term that theEtruscansused for themselves, but there is no agreement on this point.[citation needed][6]
The origins of Ravenna are uncertain.[7]The first settlement is variously attributed to (and then has seen the copresence of) theThessalians, the Etruscans and theUmbrians. Afterwards its territory was settled also by theSenones, especially the southern countryside of the city (that wasn't part of the lagoon), theAger Decimanus. Ravenna consisted of houses built on piles on a series of small islands in a marshy lagoon – a situation similar toVeniceseveral centuries later. The Romans ignored it during their conquest of thePo RiverDelta, but later accepted it into theRoman Republicas a federated town in 89BC.
In 49 BC, it was whereJulius Caesargathered his forces before crossing theRubicon. LaterOctavian, after his battle againstMark Antonyin 31 BC, founded the military harbor ofClassis.[8]This harbor, protected at first by its own walls, was an important station of theRoman Imperial Fleet. Nowadays the city is landlocked, but Ravenna remained an importantseaporton theAdriaticuntil the earlyMiddle Ages. During the Germanic campaigns,Thusnelda, widow ofArminius, andMarbod, King of theMarcomanni, were confined at Ravenna.
The city of Ravenna in the 4th century as shown on the Peutinger Map
Ravenna greatly prospered under Roman rule. EmperorTrajanbuilt a 70 km (43.50 mi) longaqueductat the beginning of the 2nd century. During theMarcomannic Wars,Germanicsettlers in Ravenna revolted and managed to seize possession of the city. For this reason, Marcus Aurelius decided not only against bringing more barbarians into Italy, but even banished those who had previously been brought there.[9]In AD 402,Emperor Honoriustransferred the capital of theWestern Roman EmpirefromMilanto Ravenna. At that time it was home to 50,000 people.[10]The transfer was made partly for defensive purposes: Ravenna was surrounded by swamps and marshes, and was perceived to be easily defensible (although in fact the city fell to opposing forces numerous times in its history); it is also likely that the move to Ravenna was due to the city's port and good sea-borne connections to theEastern Roman Empire. However, in 409, KingAlaric Iof theVisigothssimply bypassed Ravenna, and went on tosackRomein 410 and to takeGalla Placidia, daughter of EmperorTheodosius I, hostage.
After many vicissitudes, Galla Placidia returned to Ravenna with her son, EmperorValentinian III, due to the support of her nephewTheodosius II. Ravenna enjoyed a period of peace, during which time the Christian religion was favoured by the imperial court, and the city gained some of its most famous monuments, including the Orthodox Baptistery, the misnamedMausoleum of Galla Placidia(she was not actually buried there), andSan Giovanni Evangelista.
The late 5th century saw the dissolution of Roman authority in the west, andthe last person to hold the title of emperor in the Westwas deposed in 476 by the generalOdoacer. Odoacer ruled as King of Italy for 13 years, but in 489 the Eastern EmperorZenosent theOstrogothKingTheodoric the Greatto re-take the Italian peninsula. After losing theBattle of Verona,Odoacerretreated to Ravenna, where he withstood a siege of three years by Theodoric, until the taking ofRiminideprived Ravenna of supplies. Theodoric took Ravenna in 493, supposedly slew Odoacer with his own hands, and Ravenna became the capital of theOstrogothic Kingdomof Italy. Theodoric, following his imperial predecessors, also built many splendid buildings in and around Ravenna, including his palace churchSant'Apollinare Nuovo, an Arian cathedral (now Santo Spirito) and Baptistery, and his ownMausoleumjust outside the walls.
Both Odoacer and Theodoric and their followers wereArianChristians, but co-existed peacefully with the Latins, who were largely Catholic Orthodox. Ravenna's Orthodox bishops carried out notable building projects, of which the sole surviving one is the Capella Arcivescovile. Theodoric allowed Roman citizens within his kingdom to be subject to Roman law and the Roman judicial system. The Goths, meanwhile, lived under their own laws and customs. In 519, when a mob had burned down the synagogues of Ravenna, Theodoric ordered the town to rebuild them at its own expense.
Theodoric died in 526 and was succeeded by his young grandsonAthalaricunder the authority of his daughterAmalasunta, but by 535 both were dead and Theodoric's line was represented only by Amalasuntha's daughterMatasuntha. Various Ostrogothic military leaders took the Kingdom of Italy, but none were as successful as Theodoric had been. Meanwhile, theorthodox ChristianByzantineEmperorJustinian Iopposed both Ostrogoth rule and theArianvariety of Christianity. In 535 his generalBelisariusinvaded Italyand in 540 conquered Ravenna. After the conquest of Italy was completed in 554, Ravenna became the seat of Byzantine government in Italy.
From 540 to 600, Ravenna's bishops embarked upon a notable building program of churches in Ravenna and in and around the port city of Classe. Surviving monuments include theBasilica of San Vitaleand theBasilica of Sant'Apollinare in Classe, as well as the partially surviving San Michele in Africisco.
Under Byzantine rule, the archbishop of theArchdiocese of Ravennawas temporarily grantedautocephalyfrom the Roman Church by the emperor, in 666, but this was soon revoked. Nevertheless, the archbishop of Ravenna held the second place in Italy after the pope, and played an important role in many theological controversies during this period.
TheLombards, underKing Liutprand, occupied Ravenna in 712, but were forced to return it to the Byzantines.[11]However, in 751 the Lombard king,Aistulf, succeeded in conquering Ravenna, thus ending Byzantine rule in northern Italy.
KingPepinof theFranksattacked the Lombards under orders ofPope Stephen II. Ravenna then gradually came under the direct authority of thePopes, although this was contested by the archbishops at various times.Pope Adrian IauthorizedCharlemagneto take away anything from Ravenna that he liked, and an unknown quantity of Roman columns,mosaics, statues, and other portable items were taken north to enrich his capital ofAachen.
In 1198 Ravenna led a league ofRomagnacities against the Emperor, and the Pope was able to subdue it. After the war of 1218 theTraversarifamily was able to impose its rule in the city, which lasted until 1240. After a short period under an Imperial vicar, Ravenna was returned to thePapal Statesin 1248 and again to the Traversari until, in 1275, theDa Polentaestablished their long-lasting seigniory. One of the most illustrious residents of Ravenna at this time was the exiled poetDante. The last of the Da Polenta,Ostasio III, was ousted by theRepublic of Venicein February 1441, and the city was annexed to the Venetian territories in theTreaty of Cremona.
Ravenna was ruled by Venice until 1509, when the area was invaded in the course of theItalian Wars. In 1512, during theHoly Leaguewars, Ravenna was sacked by the French following theBattle of Ravenna. Ravenna was also known during the Renaissance as the birthplace of theMonster of Ravenna.
After the Venetian withdrawal, Ravenna was again ruled by legates of the Pope as part of the Papal States. The city was damaged in a tremendous flood in May 1636. Over the next 300 years, a network ofcanalsdiverted nearby rivers and drained nearby swamps, thus reducing the possibility of flooding and creating a large belt of agricultural land around the city.
Apart from another short occupation by Venice (1527–1529), Ravenna was part of the Papal States until 1796, when it was annexed to the French puppet state of theCisalpine Republic, (Italian Republicfrom 1802, andKingdom of Italyfrom 1805). It was returned to the Papal States in 1814. Occupied by Piedmontese troops in 1859, Ravenna and the surroundingRomagnaarea became part of the new unifiedKingdom of Italyin 1861.
DuringWorld War II, troops of the British27th Lancersentered and occupied Ravenna on 5 December 1944. A total of 937 Commonwealth soldiers who died in the winter of 1944-45 are buried in Ravenna War Cemetery, including 438 Canadians.[12]The town suffered very little damage.
The church ofSan Giovanni Evangelistais from the 5th century, erected byGalla Placidiaafter she survived a storm at sea. It was restored after the World War II bombings. The belltower contains four bells, the two majors dating back to 1208.
The 6th-century church of theSpirito Santo, which has been quite drastically altered since the 6th century. It was originally the Arian cathedral. The façade has a 16th-century portico with five arcades.
TheBasilica of San Francesco, rebuilt in the 10th–11th centuries over a precedent edifice dedicated to the Apostles and later to St. Peter. Behind the humble brick façade, it has a nave and two aisles. Fragments of mosaics from the first church are visible on the floor, which is usually covered by water after heavy rains (together with the crypt). Here the funeral ceremony ofDante Alighieriwas held in 1321. The poet is buried in a tomb annexed to the church, the local authorities having resisted for centuries all demands by Florence for return of the remains of its most famous exile.
The church ofSan Giovanni Battista(1683), also in Baroque style, with a Middle Ages campanile.
The basilica ofSanta Maria in Porto(16th century), with a rich façade from the 18th century. It has a nave and two aisles, with a highcupola. It houses the image of famousGreek Madonna, which was allegedly brought to Ravenna from Constantinople.
The nearbyCommunal Galleryhas various works from Romagnoli painters.
TheRocca Brancaleone("Brancaleone Castle"), built by theVenetiansin 1457. Once part of the city walls, it is now a public park. It is divided into two parts: the true Castle and the Citadel, the latter having an extent of 14,000 m2(150,694.75 sq ft).
The "so-called Palace of Theodoric", in fact the entrance to the former church ofSan Salvatore. It includes mosaics from thetrue palaceof the Ostrogoth king.
The church ofSant'Eufemia(18th century), gives access to the so-calledStone Carpets Domus(6th–7th century): this houses splendid mosaics from a Byzantine palace.
The city annually hosts theRavenna Festival, one of Italy's prominent classical music gatherings. Opera performances are held at theTeatro Alighieriwhile concerts take place at the Palazzo Mauro de André as well as in the ancientBasilica of San VitaleandBasilica of Sant'Apollinare in Classe. Chicago Symphony Orchestra music directorRiccardo Muti, a longtime resident of the city, regularly participates in the festival, which invites orchestras and other performers from around the world.
Lord Byronlived in Ravenna between 1819 and 1821, led by the love for a local aristocratic and married young woman,Teresa Guiccioli. Here he continuedDon Juanand wrote:
Ravenna is the location where Lionel, the protagonist ofMary Shelley's post-apocalyptic novelThe Last Man, comes ashore after losing his companions to a howling storm in the Aegean Sea.
Symbolist, lyrical poetAlexander Blok(1880–1921) wrote a poem entitledRavenna(May–June 1909) inspired by his Italian journey (spring 1909).
During his travels, German poet and philosopherHermann Hesse(1877–1962) came across Ravenna and was inspired to write two poems of the city. They are entitledRavenna (1)andRavenna (2).
T. S. Eliot's (1888–1965) poem "Lune de Miel" (written in French) describes a honeymooning couple from Indiana sleeping not far from the ancientBasilica of Sant' Apollinare in Classe(just outside Ravenna), famous for the carved capitals of its columns, which depictacanthusleaves buffeted by the wind, unlike the leaves in repose on similar columns elsewhere.
Freeways crossing Ravenna include:A14-bisfrom the hub of Bologna; on the north–south axis ofEU routes E45(from Rome) andE55(SS-309 "Romea" from Venice); and on the regional Ferrara-Rimini axis of SS-16 (partially called "Adriatica").
^Generally speaking, adjectival "Ravenna" and "Ravennate" are more common for most adjectival uses—theRavenna Cosmography,Ravenna grass, the Ravennate fleet—while "Ravennese" is more common in reference to people. The neologism "Ravennan" is also encountered. The Italian form isravennate; in Latin,Ravennatus,Ravennatis, andRavennatensisare all encountered.
