This is our only full day in Ravenna, and we have a lot of ground to cover. We retrace our path to the back of the Duomo, and the Battistero Neoniano (fourth and fifth centuries). This is one of the oldest buildings in the city, an octagonal brick extrusion. But on the inside, it is a swirl of forms and colors.
A marble basin is at the center, though a circular pulpit takes one of the eight sides. At the base of the of the structure, a low arcade with half-buried chapels in alternating arches. Our research tells us the ground level of the fifth century was much lower, and that the medieval font is buried in the foundation of this sixteenth century piscina. The arches are trimmed in red, and the mosaics of the lower surfaces are bright twists on a black background, with oval medallions containing saints.
A line of windows sits above these dark arches. On either side of the windows are stucco niches with more classical figures, quite a few seem to be female. The architecture creates a series of edge-lit, layered crescent shapes up to the dome.
The dome mosaic is marvelous. In the lower register, it is filled with segmented porticos containing elaborate thrones and altars with an open gospel; this band seems to mediate between the structured world and the celestial. In the wide band above, the Twelve Apostles stand against a brilliant blue wearing white and gold robes offering crowns. The swags over their heads create a starburst around the central medallion.
In the central scene, St John in his camel-hair tunic baptizes the naked Christ. The Holy Spirit soars above, while below, the personified Jordann (labelled as the Apostles are) holds His clothing. The golden sky highlights the dove and the halos of St John and Christ. The transparent effect of the rippling water rendered in the tesserae is extraordinary.
From the Battistero, we walk east in the direction of the train station. The Sunday market stalls are doing good business in the Piazza near the Basilica di San Francesco (ninth and tenth centuries). The Quadrarco di Braccioforte is just to the north of the Basilica, in a gated garden, with sarcophagi from the fifth century. Here, the Tomba di Dante (eighteenth century) faces his street, Via Dante Alighieri and the eponymous Museo.
The Tomb is a domed tempietto, and is, in the Ravenna tradition, simple outside, but lovely inside: Dantis poetae sepulcrum / Virtuti et honori.
We make a right turn at the Piazza Giuseppi Garibaldi and east on the Via Angelo Mariani. Just to the south is the Basilica di Sant'Apollinare Nuovo (early sixth century) with its slender campanile and marble-clad portico. The museum and gift shop are just to the right of the campanile, through one corner of the chiostro.
We enter the Basilica on an oblique and are unprepared for the scale and richness of the interior. There are thirteen bays to the altar, and on the north side, a line of seven chapels behind the aisle. On the south, windows face into the chiostro. The altar looks neoclassical, a full-height vault and half-dome. The mosaics in this church are above the aisles, in what would be the triforium and clerestory, known as Le Teorie di Martiri e Vergini.
On the north, a line of twenty-two female figures marches out of a city identified as Civi Classis (Classe). We know there is another Basilica di Sant'Apollinare in Classe (sixth century), and that the relics of Sant'Apollinare move from Classe to Ravenna (Nuovo) in the ninth century. We also know the Basilica's history begins with Teodorico but shifts during the Esarcato di Ravenna and the reign of Giustiniano I; so, the images transition from 'Arian' to 'Orthodox' mid-construction in the sixth century.
There are twenty-three figures in the northern procession, beginning with Sca Eugenia, Sca Savina, Sca Cristina, and so on. Each virgin martyr holds a crown between palm trees (symbols of martyrdom) and stands over a green field of lillies and thistles (symbols of rebirth and divine love). At the south, a procession of twenty-six male martyrs march from the Pala-tium (Teodorico' palace), beginning with Scs Sabinus. Scs Apollinaris is about tenth in the queue, with white hair and beard, between Scs Felix and Scs Sebastianus.
None of the figures is specified by their image; for example, Scs Sebastianus, is shown without arrows. The literature indicates that the figures had originally been members of the Ostrogoth court.
Sca Agathei, Sca Pelagia, and finally Sca Eufimia are at the head of the processioni di Sante Vergini. Next, the mosaic specifically names the Santi Magi d'Oriente, Scs Balthassar, Scs Melchior, and Scs Gaspar – all with red hats, patterned leggings, dark cloaks, and bearing the myrrh, frankincense, and gold (visible in the open urn). Nearest the altar, Maria sits, enthroned, holding the baby Jesus, and protected by the four archangels.
Like the Magi, Scs Martinus leads the processioni di Santi Martiri in a dark cloak (the church was rededicated to him after Teodorico. but before Sant'Apollinare's relics were moved). And nearest the altar is Christ, enthroned, and the four archangels. On the upper register, at the clerestory and between the windows, several other saints and prophets join the parade, carrying books and scrolls, as they seem to hover over square openings in the the ground.
Against the coffered ceiling, at the top register on the north, the panels show the Miracoli di Gesù, including (nearest the altar), the Tramutazione dell'acqua in vino (wedding at Cana) which we also saw in Padova. At the top register on the south, Via Crucis (stations of the cross), and nearest the altar is a fantastic depiction of L'Ultima Cena (last supper) – Christ and the Twelve Apostles dining on fish and loaves of bread.
The artwork in the lateral chapels, though not glittering mosaics, are still fascinating – fun to see the armillary sphere (so popular in Portugal) beautifully illustrated, and with all the parts labelled.
From the Basilica, we turn north into a series of parks: the Piazza Anita Garibaldi, the Parco Pubblico Rocca Brancaleone and the Parco Teodorico. Siri sends us around the long way in the Parco (we should have continued on the Via delle Indutrie rather than turning into the Parco), but we finally find the ticket office and gate to the Mausoleo di Teodorico (sixth century).
The Mausoleo is a stout, cylindrical tower with a monolithic cap; the little buttresses and the dome are part of the same block of pietra d'Istria. An attached metal stair leads to the parapet from the east, and we may walk around and enter from the west.
Inside we notice the cap is cracked, and the roundel and banded cross design are faded. But the window openings, the complex block shapes, especially at the altar arch and door lintel, are astounding. A sarcophagus of purple stone (porfido) occupies the center of the space.
At a millennium and a half, the structure and its many carved details are in astonishingly good shape. The Mausoleo maintains its ancient elegance.
We enjoy one of the best meals of the trip at the Mercato Coperto – local oysters and a heavy-duty pasta called passatelli served with Parmigiano Reggiano and shaved tartufo nero (the mac and cheese of your dreams). The market hall is also an amazing place to get to know the local cuisine; there are prepared foods, a pasta counter, regional specialties, and lots of meats and cheeses.
The walk to our next site is not long enough to help with the food coma, but the shopping street of Via Cavour (full name: Via Camillo Benso Conte di Cavour) is amusing. We stroll past our destination, to the Porta Adriana and then back.
The Mausoleo di Galla Placidia (fifth century) is another modest, primitive building with a tangled history. Galla Placidia is the daughter of Teodosio I, wife of Ataulfo (Visigoth king) and Costanzo III (Roman emperor), and mother of Valentiniano III – plus, she serves as empress and regent (Augusta dell'Impero romano) from 425-450.
This funerary chapel is all the remains of a larger church, the Chiesa di Santa Croce (the current, smaller Santa Croce is from the sixteenth century). Lions and vines adorn the lintel of an otherwise simple door surround. The interior is inky, and we enter.
The sky turns dark, then fills with kaleidoscopic motifs. At the far end, two figures converse over a tiny fountain and two doves. Between them, a large window is glazed in glowing stone. We step into the center of the space. In the lunette below, a man holds a book by a big fire, covered with a cooking grate. Nearby, a cabinet hold the four books of the gospel (Marcus, Lucas, Matteus, Ioannes). The literature tells us the figure by the fire is San Lorenzo, and the gridiron is the symbol of his martyrdom.
Looking left and right, there are more figures in the upper arches; the guidebook says these are Apostles. Interestingly, the Apostles stand on a gold field with a dark blue background, an inversion of scenes in other churches where the sky is gold; above them, the Holy Spirit glows. In each lunette, a pair of deer approaches a pool of water, enclosed by spirals of vines and acanthus leaves.
The dome rises higher than expected. The guidebook adds to our Italian vocabulary; the figures in the corners are called tetramorfo – the symbols of the Four Evangelists (lion, eagle, angel, ox). The arches are trimmed in red, like the Battistero Neoniano, with aureate ribbons. In the center is the santa croce, encircled by rings of gold stars – the effect is dizzying.
Turning once more to face the door, we finally see Christ. This is a young Jesus tending a flock of sheep under a baby-blue sky – Cristo il Buon Pastore.
The state of preservation of the mosaics is unbelievable, even the alabaster windows. Unlike the mosaics in Sant'Apollinare, which strained our necks, or in the chapel Sant'Andrea which whetted our appetites, this is a a scale and an intimacy that is throughly enjoyable. And unlike those other two sites, there is nothing missing or 'updated' and really feels like a time capsule.
Back outside, we are right behind Basilica di San Vitale (sixth century), which is on the schedule tomorrow. We wonder what those complicated buttresses might be supporting.
On the Via Giuliano Argentario, we stop in to Annafietta Mosaicisti. Here, artisans make mosaics for the tourist trade, and give classes. We are mesmerized by the jars filled with tesserae and arranged according to the visible spectrum.
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