When I woke up the first morning on the MV Athena, we were already docked in the port of Ravenna. Although we were about 70 miles south of Venice, we still in the Venetian lagoon. However, we were no longer in the Veneto region. Instead, we were in Emilia Romagna. This region, famous for its Parma ham and Parmesan cheese, nowadays derives much of its revenue from the production of cars. Other cities in Emilia Romagna are Bologna and Sangiovese.
On our drive from the port to the center of the city, we passed through protected marshland, home to many water birds. You can even find flamingoes here at certain times of year. But we also saw petrochemical plants and offshore platforms where ships download oil. While these facilities provide more than 9000 jobs, there is quite a bit of concern about their impact on the environment.
Ravenna is a small city of about 155,000 people with a long, rich, and varied history. It was the capital of the Western Roman Empire from 402CE until 476CE, when the Empire fell to the barbarians. It was ruled by Visigoth and Ostrogoth kings until it came under Byzantine (Eastern Roman) rule in 540. Barbarian tribes once again took control of the city in the 8th century. In 757, it was given to the Pope and incorporated into the Papal States. Ravenna remained part of the Papal States until Italy was unified in 1861.
The strong Byzantine influence in evident in Ravenna’s art, especially its world-famous mosaics. The earliest mosaics we saw were in the small 5th century chapel called the Mausoleum of Galla Placidia. She was the daughter of the late 4th century CE Roman emperor Theodosius I the Great and the sister of emperor Honorius. Galla Placidia herself was an important political figure, serving for a time as regent prior to her death in 450.
Although it’s called her mausoleum, Galla Placidia isn’t buried there. She had the chapel built to honor St. Lawrence of Rome. The small brick structure combines Western architectural forms and techniques with Eastern decorative style. On the outside, it’s plain and unassuming. But as soon as you step inside, you find yourself in a magical world of jewel-like mosaics.
The dome is the dark blue of the night sky with concentric circles of gold stars.
Much of the iconography is related to the imperial attempt to assert Christian orthodoxy over the Arian heresy. I’m certainly no expert on Christianity so I did a little research and learned that Arianism, which dates back to early 4th century Alexandria, Egypt, does not believe in the Trinity. It stresses God’s uniqueness and unity and sees Jesus as a holy man created by God. Arianism dates back to early 4th century in Alexandria Egypt. It spread throughout the Western and Eastern Roman Empires. Even after it was denounced as heresy at the Council of Nicaea in 325, where Theodosius played an important role, Arianism remained popular with many Germanic tribes for several centuries afterwards.
I was very interested in the purely decorative mosaics, which seemed very contemporary.
The alabaster windows which admit a soft golden light were added much later. They were a gift from King Vittorio Emanuele III in 1908.
Just a few steps from the Mausoleum is the 6th century Basilica of San Vitale. The construction of this large church was ordered by the Byzantine emperor Justinian after he conquered the Ostrogoth kingdom of Italy. Like the Mausoleum, it is built of brick.
During the reign of Justinian (527-65), a new synthesis of Greco-Roman and Christian culture produced what we know as Byzantine culture. Mosaics in the basilica show Justinian dressed in purple and gold, signifying his role as the defender of Christian orthodoxy. His wife Theodora is another historical figure who appears in the mosaics. The cycle of mosaics in the main vault is intended to be a clear anti-Arian message, directed towards the Ostrogoths.
Other Biblical figures include Abraham, Moses, and several prophets.
Once again, I was less interested in the theological message than I was in the artistic aspects of the mosaics. The basilica’s treasures were overwhelming, and I’ve only been able to show you a small sampling here.
Ravenna is also the burial place of the writer Dante Alighieri, who died in 1321. He was exiled from Florence in 1302 for daring to criticize the city’s rulers at a time when Florence was part of the Papal States. He strongly opposed the powerful leading figures of the Church and advocated for Florence to be separated from the Papal States. As a result of his political activity, he was accused of corruption, extortion, and misuse of public funds. He was found guilty and forced into exile in 1302. While living in Ravenna, he wrote The Divine Comedy. The tomb that houses Dante’s remains was built in 1780.
From Dante’s tomb, we took a short walk through the pedestrian-only streets of the historic area. The abundance of contemporary mosaics on display here, on the façades of buildings, on street signs, and inside cafés and restaurants, attests to the continuation of Ravenna’s mosaic tradition.
At lunchtime, we tried some regional specialities, including piadini, a flatbread that dates back to ancient Rome. The recipe is pretty basic – white wheat flour, lard or olive oil, salt, and water. It was served warm with a variety of local cheeses and cold cuts. It wasn’t especially exciting. The best part of the meal was the tagliatelle al ragu.
Instead of going back to the ship right after lunch, I opted to remain in town in order to visit Koko Mosaico Studio, a mosaic workshop where artists use traditional methods and materials to create stunning new works of mosaic art. I watched smalti (thick slabs of colored glass) and marble being cut into tesserae (the individual pieces placed into a mosaic). The tools were a hammer and hardie (a thick steel chisel piece that is set upside down in a block of wood).
After watching the demonstration and seeing the art on display, I was more determined than ever to sign up for a mosaics class when I got back home.
And right across the street from the mosaic studio was an early 6th century church with more mosaics inside. The Basilica di San Apollinaire Nuovo was erected as an Arian cathedral by the Ostrogothic king Theodoric the Great as his palace chapel. It was converted to a Catholic church around 560CE. The two long side walls of the church are covered with figurative mosaics. The mosaics in the basilica are significant in the history of art because they show the fusion that was taking place between the Eastern and Western styles during the late 5th and early 6th centuries.
It was quite a full day by the time I returned to the ship for the cocktail hour, port talk, and dinner. Rather than drinking at the cocktail hour, I saved my calorie consumption for dinner. At our second dinner on board, the appetizer was a pastry stuffed with a ragout of feta cheese, bell peppers, and leeks.
I couldn’t make up my mind which entrée to order, so I asked for half portions of two options: pan fried filet of tilapia and the vegetarian option, caponata.
I wish I could have skipped dessert (straciatella ice cream served with berry sauce and whipped cream), but I didn’t have the will power. In fact, I’m embarrassed to tell you that I had two portions of dessert that night. (Actually, it was because I didn’t want to disappoint the kind server who had extra desserts on his tray. He offered me a third helping but I declined.) To make up for the additional calories, I resolved to do some extra walking the following day, when we’d be in the Republic of San Marino.
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