Unmissable Excursions: RAVENNA
Ravenna, heritage of Byzantine art. The charm of a "sweet longing for the Orient" (E. Montale) relives in the soft embrace of terracotta and the light of its mosaics.
Ravenna, the destiny of a capital city: of the Roman Western Empire, of the kingdom of Odoacres, and later Theoderich. When Ravenna became the outpost of Byzantine art in Italy in 553, the aspect of the town was enriched by inerasable artistic episodes.
The mosaics in S. Vitale Basilica shine in intricate scenes of naturalism and characteristic representations in the static and solemn style of Byzantine art. In the adjacent Mausoleo di Galla Placidia the mosaics transform the cupola into a "glaucous night glowing in gold" (G. D'Annunzio). In S. Apollinare Nuovo Church, mosaics run along the walls of the central nave depicting episodes in the life of Christ.
The mosaics in Ravenna are not just static works of art to be admired: the Istituto d' Arte (Institute of art) has brought life to them, making them something to be designed and made. In the shops scattered around the town, which the public are welcome to visit, artists' ideas are combined with the patient dexterity of craftsmen. Antique depictions are reproduced using techniques and pastes similar to those used in the Roman and Byzantine period, and new methods are experimented. Since the second half of the 1980s the basilicas S. Vitale and S. Apollinare Nuovo and the one in Classe have played host to the celebration of a secular ritual: the Ravenna Festival. In fact, they are the venue of a summer event which revolves around great musical productions involving Riccardo Muti, it also features dancing, drama, cinema, and non academic disciplines. Dante hid in Ravenna to save himself from the stake. He died here in 1321 and his remains are preserved in Ravenna. For a long time the people of Florence made requests for them in vane. When their transfer was finally authorised the urn was found to be empty. The Friars Minor had taken the bones and hidden them. Three centuries later they were found accidentally and placed in a small neoclassic temple, under a sculptured image of the poet immersed in reading.
A short distance to the south of Ravenna, in an area once covered by Adriatic sea , stands Basilica di S. Apollinare adorned with mosaics dating from the 6th-9th centuries. Before the land was abandoned by the river Po, it was compressed into a vast plain. The antique town of Classe ("float" in Latin), with its 250 ships, was the capital of the Adriatic and the Western Mediterranean, and the large archaeological area next to the Basilica is an evidence of this.
