Ravenna

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Ravenna

Ravenna is a city

City

A city is an urban area with a high population density and a particular administrative, legal, or historical status.Large industrialized cities generally have advanced systems for sanitation, utilities, land usage, house, and transportation and more....
and comune
Comune

In Italy, the comune, is the basic administrative division of both provinces and regions, and may be properly approximated in casual speech by the English word township or municipality....
in the Emilia-Romagna

Emilia-Romagna

Emilia-Romagna is an administrative Regions of Italy of Northern Italy comprising the two historic regions of Emilia and Romagna. The capital is Bologna; it has an area of 20,124 km? and about 4.3 million inhabitants....
region of Italy

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic , is a country located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe and on the two largest islands in the Mediterranean Sea, Sicily and Sardinia....
. The city is inland, but is connected to the Adriatic Sea

Adriatic Sea

The Adriatic Sea is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkan peninsula, and the system of the Apennine Mountains from that of the Dinaric Alps and adjacent ranges....
by a canal. Ravenna once served as the seat of the Western Roman Empire

Western Roman Empire

The Western Roman Empire refers to the western half of the Roman Empire, from its division by Diocletian in 285; the other half of the Roman Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire, today widely known as the Byzantine Empire....
and later the Kingdom of the Ostrogoths and the Exarchate of Ravenna

Exarchate of Ravenna

The Exarchate of Ravenna or of Italy was a centre of Byzantine Empire power in Italy, from the end of the 6th century to 751, when the last Exarch was put to death by the Lombards....
. It is presently the capital of the Province of Ravenna

Province of Ravenna

The Province of Ravenna is a Provinces of Italy in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Ravenna.It has an area of 1,858 km?, and a total population of 365,369 ....
.

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Encyclopedia

Ravenna is a city

City

Emilia-Romagna

Italy

Adriatic Sea

Western Roman Empire

Exarchate of Ravenna

Province of Ravenna

The Province of Ravenna is a Provinces of Italy in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Ravenna.It has an area of 1,858 km?, and a total population of 365,369 ....
. At 652.89 km² (252.08 sq mi), Ravenna is the second-largest comune in land area in Italy, although it is only a little more than half the size of the largest, Rome

Rome

Rome is the capital city of Italy and Lazio, and is Italy's largest and most populous city, with 2,724,347 residents in an urban area of some ....
.

History

Early history

The origins of Ravenna are uncertain. The first settlement is variously attributed to the Tyrrhenian

Tyrrhenian

Tyrrhenian may refer to the:* Tyrrhenian Stage, a faunal stage from 0.26 to 0.01143 million years ago* Tyrrhenians, an ancient ethnonym associated variously with Pelasgians, Etruscans or Lemnos...
s, the Thessalians or the Umbrians. Ravenna consisted of houses built on piles on a series of small islands in a marshy lagoon - a situation similar to Venice

Venice

Po River

The Po is a river that flows 652 km eastward across northern Italy, from Monviso to the Adriatic Sea near Venice. It has a drainage area of 71,000 km? and is the longest river in Italy....
Delta, but later accepted it into the Roman Republic

Roman Republic

The Roman Republic was the phase of the Ancient Rome characterized by a republican form of government; a period which began with the overthrow of the Roman Roman Kingdom, c....
as a federated town in 89 BC. In 49 BC, it was the location where Julius Caesar

Julius Caesar

'Gaius Julius Caesar' , July 13, 100 BC ? March 15, 44 BC,) was a Roman Republic military and political leader. He played a critical role in the transformation of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire....
gathered his forces before crossing the Rubicon

Rubicon

Rubicon is a 29 km long river in northern Italy.The river flows from the Apennine Mountains to the Adriatic Sea through the southern Emilia-Romagna region between the towns of Rimini and Cesena....
. Later, after his battle against Mark Antony

Mark Antony

Marcus Antonius , known in English as Marc Antony, was a Roman Republic politician and General. He was an important supporter and the best friend of Julius Caesar as a military commander and administrator, being Caesar's second cousin, once removed, by his mother Julia Antonia....
in 31 BC, Emperor Augustus founded the military harbor of Classe. This harbor, protected at first by its own walls, was an important station of the Roman Imperial Fleet

Roman Navy

The Roman Navy comprised the naval forces of the Roman state. Although the navy was instrumental in the Roman conquest of the Mediterranean Sea basin, it never enjoyed the prestige of the Roman legions....
. Nowadays the city is landlocked, but Ravenna remained an important seaport on the Adriatic until the early Middle Ages

Middle Ages

File:Karl 1 mit papst gelasius gregor1 sacramentar v karl d kahlen.jpgThe Middle Ages of European history are a period in history which lasted for roughly a millennium, commonly dated from the fall of the Roman Empire in the 5th century to the beginning of the Early Modern Period in the 16th century, marked by the division of Western Christi...
. During the German campaigns, Thusnelda

Thusnelda

Thusnelda was the daughter of the Cherusci prince Segestes. Her father had intended her for someone else, but Arminius, who subsequently led a coalition of Germanic tribes to victory over Publius Quinctilius Varus and his legions in the Battle of Teutoburg Forest in 9 A.D., eloped with her and married her instead....
, widow of Arminius

Arminius

Arminius, also known as Armin or Hermann was a chieftain of the Cherusci who defeated a Roman army in the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest....
, and Marbod

Marbod

Marbod or Maroboduus , was king of the Marcomanni. In his novel I, Claudius Robert Graves interprets the name 'Marbod' as meaning "he who walks on the bottom of the lake"....
, King of the Marcomanni

Marcomanni

The Marcomanni were a Germanic tribe, probably related to the Buri , Suebi or Suevi....
, were confined at Ravenna.

Ravenna greatly prospered under Roman rule. Emperor Trajan

Trajan

Marcus Ulpius Nerva Traianus, commonly known as Trajan , was a Roman Emperors who reigned from 98 until his death in 117. Born Marcus Ulpius Traianus into a nonpatrician family in the Hispania Baetica province , Trajan rose to prominence during the reign of emperor Domitian, serving as a general in the Roman army along the Limes G...
built a 70 km

Kilometre

The kilometre , symbol km is a Units of measurement of length in the metric system, equal to one thousand metres.Slang terms for kilometre include click and kay ....
long aqueduct at the beginning of the 2nd century. In 402, Emperor Honorius transferred the capital of the Western Roman Empire

Western Roman Empire

Milan

Milan is the second largest city of Italy, located in the plains of Lombardy. It is the capital in the Province of Milan, as well as the Regions of Italy capital of Lombardy....
to Ravenna. The transfer was made primarily for defensive purposes: Ravenna was surrounded by swamps and marshes and had ease of access to Imperial forces of the Eastern Roman Empire. However, in 409, King Alaric I

Alaric I

Alaric I , was likely born about 370 on an Peuce Island at the mouth of the Danube. He was king of the Visigoths from 395–410 and the first Germanic peoples leader to take the city of Rome....
of the Visigoths simply bypassed Ravenna, and went on to sack Rome

Rome

Rome is the capital city of Italy and Lazio, and is Italy's largest and most populous city, with 2,724,347 residents in an urban area of some ....
and to take Galla Placidia

Galla Placidia

File:Aelia Galla Placidia.jpgAelia Galla Placidia was the Empress consort of Constantius III, Western Roman Empire....
, daughter of Emperor Theodosius I

Theodosius I

Flavius Theodosius , also called Theodosius I and Theodosius the Great , was Roman Emperor from 379 to 395. Reuniting the eastern and western portions of the empire, Theodosius was the last emperor of both the Eastern Roman Empire and Western Roman Empire....
, hostage. After many vicissitudes, Galla Placidia returned to Ravenna with her son, Emperor Valentinian III

Valentinian III

Flavius Placidus Valentinianus , known in English as Valentinian III, was among the last Western Roman Emperors ....
and the support of her nephew Theodosius II

Theodosius II

Flavius Theodosius , called the Calligrapher, known in English as Theodosius II, was an Eastern Roman Empire , mostly known for the law code bearing his name, the Codex Theodosianus, and the Walls of Constantinople#The Theodosian Walls of Constantinople built during his reign....
. Ravenna enjoyed a period of peace, during which time the Christian religion was favoured by the imperial court, and the city gained its most famous monuments, both secular (demolished) and Christian (largely preserved).

In 476, the Western Roman Empire fell. Eastern Emperor Zeno

Zeno (emperor)

Flavius Zeno Perpetuus, original name Tarasicodissa or Trascalissaeus, Eastern Roman Empire was one of the more prominent of the early Byzantine Emperors....
sent Ostrogoth

Ostrogoth

The Ostrogoths were a branch of the Goths, an East Germanic tribes that played a major role in the political events of the late Roman Empire. The other branch was the Visigoths....
King Theodoric the Great

Theodoric the Great

File:Theodoric bronze weight inlaid with silver issued by prefect Catulinus Rome 493 526.jpg'Theodoric the Great' , known in Latin as 'Flavius Theodericus' and in Greek sources, was king of the Ostrogoths , ruler of Italy , and regent of the Visigoths ....
to re-take the Italian peninsula. After the Battle of Verona

Battle of Verona

The Battle of Verona was fought in June of 403 by Alaric I's Visigoths, and a Roman force led by Stilicho. Alaric was defeated and subsequently withdrew from Italy....
, Odoacer

Odoacer

Odoacer , also known as Odovacar , was a Germanic general and the first non-Roman King of Italy after 476. He deposed the last Western Roman Emperor, Romulus Augustus, that year, but continued to rule first as a nominal client of Julius Nepos and, after Nepos' death in AD 480, as a client of the Eastern Roman Emperor....
retreated to Ravenna, where he withstood a siege of three years by Theodoric, until the taking of Rimini

Rimini

Rimini is a city in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy and capital city of the Province of Rimini. It is located on the Adriatic Sea, near the coast between the rivers Marecchia and Ausa ....
deprived Ravenna of supplies. After Theodoric slew Odoacer, Ravenna was the capital of the Ostrogothic kingdom of Italy.

After 493, Theodoric employed Roman architects for secular and religious structures, including the lost palace near Sant'Apollinare Nuovo; the "Palazzo di Teodorico" was an outbuilding. Theodoric and his followers were Arians

Arianism

Arianism is the theological teaching of Arius , a Christian priest, who was first ruled a heresy at the First Council of Nicea, later exonerated and then pronounced a heretic again after his death....
, but co-existed peacefully with the Latins. Theodoric died in 526 and was succeeded by his daughter Amalasunta, who was killed in 535.

However, the orthodox Christian Byzantine

List of Byzantine Emperors

This is a list of the Emperors of the late Eastern Roman Empire, commonly known as the Byzantine Empire by modern historians. This list does not include numerous co-emperors who never attained sole or senior status as rulers....
Emperor Justinian I

Justinian I

Flavius Petrus Sabbatius Iustinianus , AD 482 or 483 ? 13 or 14 November 565, was the second member of the Justinian Dynasty and List of Roman Emperors from 527 until his death....
, opposed both Ostrogoth rule and the Arian

Arianism

Belisarius

Flavius Belisarius is often described as one of the greatest generals of the Byzantine Empire. He was instrumental to Byzantine Emperor Justinian I's ambitious project of reconquering much of the Western Roman Empire, which had been lost just under a century previously....
invaded Italy and in 540 conquered Ravenna. Ravenna became the seat of Byzantine government in Italy.

The Restauratio Imperii in Ravenna also benefited from the nearby harbour of Classe (Classis), which is sometimes called the Pompeii of Late Antiquity. The most representative remnant of that period is the church St. Apollinaris (VI-VII century AD), whose relics were laid in the church. But even if Classe was founded during the Roman period, it has grown mainly during the Late Empire. As Ravenna's port, it was one of the key exchange platforms in the VI-VII th century AD, and the main harbour of the Italian Adriatic seashore.

Exarchate of Ravenna

Following the conquests of Belisarius

Belisarius

Justinian I

Byzantine Empire

Byzantine Empire and Eastern Roman Empire are conventional names used to describe the Roman Empire during the Middle Ages, centered on its capital of Constantinople....
governor of Italy, the Exarch

Exarch

In the Byzantine Empire, an exarch, from Greek language , was governor with extended authority of a province at some remove from the capital Constantinople....
, and was known as the Exarchate of Ravenna

Exarchate of Ravenna

Ravenna Cosmography

The Ravenna Cosmography was compiled by an anonymous cleric in Ravenna around AD 700. It consists of a list of place-names covering the world from India to Ireland....
was written.

Medieval & Renaissance history

The Lombards

Lombards

The Lombards were a Germanic peoples originally from Northern Europe who settled in the valley of the Danube and from there invaded Byzantine Italian peninsula in 568 under the leadership of Alboin....
, under King Liutprand, occupied Ravenna in 712, but were forced to return it to the Byzantines. However, in 751 the Lombard king.,Aistulf

Aistulf

Aistulf was the Duke of Friuli from 744, King of Lombards from 749, and Duchy of Spoleto from 751. His father was the Pemmo of Friuli.After his brother Ratchis became king, Aistulf succeeded him in Friuli....
, succeeded in conquering Ravenna, thus ending Byzantine rule in northern Italy.

King Pepin

Pippin the Younger

Pepin or Pippin , called the Short, and often known as Pepin the Younger or Pepin III, was the Mayor of the Palace and Duke of the Franks from 741 and King of the Franks from 751 to 768....
of France attacked the Lombards under orders of Pope Stephen II

Pope Stephen II

Pope Stephen II was a pope of the Roman Catholic Church .The Lombards to the north of Rome had captured Ravenna, former capital of the Byzantine Empire exarchate, in 751, and began to put pressure on Rome....
. Ravenna then became territory of the Papal States

Papal States

Pope Adrian I

Pope Adrian, or Hadrian I, was pope from February 9, 772 to December 25, 795. He was the son of Theodore, a Rome nobleman.Soon after his accession, the territory ruled by the popes was invaded by Desiderius, king of the Lombards, and Adrian found it necessary to invoke the aid of the Franks king Charlemagne, who entered Italy with...
authorized King Charlemagne

Charlemagne

Charlemagne was List of Frankish kings from 768 to his death. He expanded the Franks kingdoms into a Carolingian Empire that incorporated much of Western Europe and Central Europe....
to take away anything from Ravenna that he liked. Charlemagne made three looting expeditions to Ravenna, removing a vast quantity of Roman columns, mosaic

Mosaic

Mosaic is the art of creating images with an assemblage of small pieces of colored glass, stone, or other material. It may be a technique of Decorative arts, an aspect of interior decoration or of cultural and spiritual significance as in a cathedral....
s, statues, and other portable items to enrich his capital of Aachen

Aachen

is a historic spa town in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is the westernmost city of Germany, located along its borders with Belgium and the Netherlands, 65 km west of Cologne....
.

Under Papal rule, the archbishop

Archbishop

In Christianity, an archbishop is an elevated bishop. In the Roman Catholic Church, the Anglican Communion and others, this means that they lead a diocese of particular importance called an archdiocese, or in the Anglican Communion an Ecclesiastical Province, but this is not always the case....
of Ravenna enjoyed autocephaly

Autocephaly

Autocephaly, in hierarchical Christian churches and especially Eastern Orthodox Church and Oriental Orthodoxy churches, is the status of a hierarchical church whose head bishop does not report to any higher-ranking bishop....
from the Roman Church - a privilege obtained under Byzantine rule. Due to donations by the Ottonian

Ottonian

The Ottonian dynasty was a dynasty of List of German Kings and Emperors , named after its first emperor but also known as the Saxon dynasty after the family's origin....
emperors, the archbishop of Ravenna was the richest in Italy after the Papacy, and was thus successfully able to challenge the temporal authority of the Pope on occasion.

In 1198 Ravenna led a league of Romagna

Romagna

Romagna is an Italy historical region that approximately corresponds to the south-eastern portion of present-day Emilia-Romagna. Traditionally, it is limited by the Apennine Mountains to the south-west, the Adriatic to the east, and the rivers River Reno and Sillaro to the north and west....
cities against the Emperor, and the Pope was able to subdue it. After the war of 1218 the Traversari family 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 the Papal States in 1248 and again to the Traversari until, in 1275, the Da Polenta established their long-lasting seigniory. One of the most illustrious residents of Ravenna at this time was the exiled poet Dante

DANTE

DANTE is a not-for-profit organisation that plans, builds and operates the international networks that interconnect the various National Research and Education Networks in Europe and surrounding regions....
. The last of the Da Polenta, Ostasio III

Ostasio III da Polenta

Ostasio III da Polenta was the last lord of Ravenna of the da Polenta family.The son of Obizzo da Polenta, he inherited Ravenna but under the control of a proveditore from the nearby Republic of Venice....
, was ousted by the Republic of Venice

Republic of Venice

The Most Serene Republic of Venice or Venetian Republic was a state originating from the city of Venice . It existed for over a millennium, from the late 7th century AD until the year 1797....
in 1440, and the city was annexed to the Venetian territories.

Ravenna was ruled by Venice until 1509, when the area was invaded in the course of the Italian Wars

Italian Wars

The Italian Wars, often referred to as the Great Italian Wars or the Great Wars of Italy in historical works, were a series of conflicts from 1494 to 1559 that involved, at various times, most of the Italian city-states, the Papal States, all the major states of western Europe as well as the Ottoman Empire....
. In 1512, during the Holy League

War of the League of Cambrai

The War of the League of Cambrai, sometimes known as the War of the Holy League and by several other names, was a major conflict in the Italian Wars....
wars, Ravenna was sacked by the French.

After the Venetian withdrawal, Ravenna was again ruled by legates of the Pope

Pope

The Pope is the Bishop of Rome, the leader of the Roman Catholic Church and head of state of Vatican City. The current pope is Pope Benedict XVI, who was elected April 19, 2005 in Papal conclave, 2005....
as part of the Papal States

Papal States

The Papal States, State of the Church or Pontifical States were one of the major historical states of Italy from roughly the 6th century until the Italian peninsula was unified in 1861 by the Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia ....
. The city was damaged in a tremendous flood in May 1636. Over the next 3 centuries, a network of canals diverted nearby rivers and drained nearby swamps, thus reducing the possibility of flooding and creating a large belt of agricultural land around the city. Also, Dante Alighieri died here.

Modern history

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 the Cisalpine Republic

Cisalpine Republic

The Cisalpine Republic was a French client republic in Northern Italy that lasted from 1797 to 1802.After the Battle of Lodi, in May 1796, the French general Napoleon I of France proceeded to organize two states ? one on the south of the Po River, the Cispadane Republic, and one on the north, the Transpadane Republic....
, (Italian Republic

Italian Republic (Napoleonic)

The Italian Republic was a short-lived republic, located in Northern Italy. It was a vassal state of the First French Republic of Napoleon.The Italian Republic was the successor of the Cisalpine Republic, which changed its constitution to allow the French First Consul Napoleon to become its president....
from 1802, and Kingdom of Italy

Kingdom of Italy (Napoleonic)

The Kingdom of Italy was founded in Northern Italy by Napoleon I of France, and ended with his defeat and fall.The Kingdom of Italy was born on 17 March 1805 when the Italian Republic , whose president was Napoleon, became Kingdom of Italy, with Napoleon as King of Italy and Eug?ne de Beauharnais viceroy....
from 1805). it was returned to the Pope in 1814. occupied by Piedmontese troops in 1859, Ravenna and the surrounding Romagna

Romagna

Main sights

World Heritage

Eight early Christian monuments of Ravenna are inscribed on the World Heritage List. These are

Neonian Baptistery (c. 430)
Mausoleum of Galla Placidia
Mausoleum of Galla Placidia

The Mausoleum of Galla Placidia is a highly important Roman Empire mausoleum in Ravenna, Italy. It is one of the eight structures in Ravenna that were inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1996....
(c. 430)
Arian Baptistry
Arian Baptistry

The Arian Baptistry in Ravenna, Italy was erected by Ostrogothic King Theodoric the Great between the end of the 5th century and the beginning of the sixth century....
(c. 500)
Archiepiscopal Chapel
Archiepiscopal Chapel

Archiepiscopal Chapel is a chapel on the first floor of the bishops' palace in Ravenna, Italy. It is a private Oratory of Trinity bishops dating from the turn of the 6th century....
(c. 500)
Basilica of Sant'Apollinare Nuovo
Basilica of Sant'Apollinare Nuovo

The Basilica of Sant' Apollinare Nuovo is a church in Ravenna, Emilia-Romagna . It was erected by the Arianism King Theodoric as his palace chapel, during the first quarter of the 6th century ....
(c. 500)
Mausoleum of Theodoric
Mausoleum of Theodoric

The Mausoleum of Theodoric is an ancient monument just outside Ravenna, Italy. It was built in 520 by Theodoric the Great as his future tomb....
(520)
Basilica of San Vitale
Basilica of San Vitale

The Church or Basilica of San Vitale? styled an "Basilica" in the Roman Catholic Church, though it is not of Basilica form? is the most famous monument of Ravenna, Italy and is one of the most important examples of Byzantine Art and architecture in western Europe....
(548)
Basilica of Sant' Apollinare in Classe (549)

Other tourist attractions include:

the ancient church of the Spirito Santo, which has maintained the original lines from the 5th century. It was originally an Arian temple. The façade has a noteworthy 16th century portico with 5 arcades.
The church of St. John the Evangelist
San Giovanni Evangelista, Ravenna

San Giovanni Evangelista is a church in Ravenna, Italy.It was built in the 420s century by the Roman imperial princess Galla Placidia.In the Middle Ages the Benedictines annexed to it an important monastery....
is also from the 5th century, erected by Galla Placidia
Galla Placidia

File:Aelia Galla Placidia.jpgAelia Galla Placidia was the Empress consort of Constantius III, Western Roman Empire....
after a seastorm. It was restored after the World War II bombings.
The St. Francis basilica, 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 primitive church are visible on the floor, which is usually covered by water after heavy rains (together with the crypt). Here the funeral ceremony of Dante Alighieri
Dante Alighieri

Durante degli Alighieri , commonly known as Dante Alighieri, was a Florence poet of the Middle Ages. His Magnum opus, the Divine Comedy , is often considered the greatest literary work composed in the Italian language and a masterpiece of world literature....
was 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 Baroque
Baroque

In the the arts, the Baroque was a Western cultural Epoch , starting roughly at the beginning of the 17th century in Rome, Italy. It was exemplified by drama and grandeur in Baroque sculpture, Baroque painting, literature, Baroque dance, and Baroque music....
church of Santa Maria Maggiore (525-532, rebuilt in 1671). It houses a picture by Luca Longhi
Luca Longhi

Luca Longhi , was an Italy painter of the Mannerist period, born and active near Ravenna, where he mainly produced religious paintings and portraits....
.
The church of San Giovanni Battista 1683, also of Baroque style, with a Middle Ages belfry.
The basilica of Santa Maria in Porto (16th century), with a rich façade from the 18th century. It has a nave and two aisles, with a high cupola. It houses the image of famous Greek Madonna, which was allegedly brought to Ravenna from Constantinople.
The nearby Communal Gallery has various works from Romagnoli painters.
The Rocca Brancaleone ("Brancaleone Castle"), built by the Venetians
Republic of Venice

The Most Serene Republic of Venice or Venetian Republic was a state originating from the city of Venice . It existed for over a millennium, from the late 7th century AD until the year 1797....
in 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.
The so-called Palace of Theoderic, in fact the entrance to the former church of San Salvatore
San Salvatore

San Salvatore is the name of a number of places in Italy, including the communes of*San Salvatore di Fitalia, Province of Messina*San Salvatore Monferrato, Province of Alessandria...
. It includes mosaics from the true Palace of the Ostrogoth king.
The church of Santa Eufemia
Santa Eufemia

Santa Eufemia may refer to:*Santa Eufemia, C?rdoba, Spain*Santa Eufemia del Barco, Spain*Santa Eufemia del Arroyo, Spain*Sant'Eufemia a Maiella, Italy...
(18th century), gives access to the so-called Stone Carpets Domus (6th-7th century): this houses splendid mosaics from a Byzantine palace.
The National Museum.

Transportation

Ravenna has an important commercial and tourist port.

By road, it can be reached through from the highway hub of Bologna

Bologna

Bologna is the capital city of Emilia-Romagna in northern Italy, in the Po Valley , between the Po River and the Apennine Mountains, exactly between the Reno River and the S?vena River....
or, from Venice

Venice

Venice is a city in northern Italy, the capital city of the Italian regions Veneto, a population of 271,251 . Together with Padua, Italy, the city is included in the Padua-Venice Metropolitan Area ....
, with State Road 309 "Romea". From Rome the fastest connections is the E45 International Road; the other main connection to southern Italy is the State Street 16 "Adriatica".

The railroad station has connections to Bologna

Bologna

Ferrara

Ferrara is a city in Emilia-Romagna, northern Italy, capital city of the Province of Ferrara.It is situated 50 km north-northeast of Bologna, on the Po di Volano, a branch channel of the main stream of the Po River, located 5 km north....
, Venice

Venice

Verona

Verona is a city in Veneto, northern Italy, one of the seven provincial capitals in the region. It is one of the main tourist destinations in north-eastern Italy, thanks to its artistic heritage, several annual fairs, shows and operas, such as the lyrical season in the Arena, the ancient amphitheatre built by the Romans....
and Rimini

Rimini

Forlì Airport

Forl? Airport is an airport near Forl?, northern Italy.Airlines and destinations*Belle Air *Windjet *Wizz Air External links*...
and Bologna

Bologna Airport

Bologna Airport or Guglielmo Marconi Airport is an international airport serving the city of Bologna in Italy. It is approximately 6 km northwest the town center in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy, about 200 km east of Milan....
.

In literature

Ravenna is the setting for Thomas Middleton

Thomas Middleton

Thomas Middleton was an England English Renaissance theatre and poet. Middleton stands with John Fletcher and Ben Jonson as among the most successful and prolific of playwrights who wrote their best plays during the Jacobean period....
's The Witch

The Witch

The Witch is a Literature in English#Jacobean literature play, a tragicomedy written by Thomas Middleton. The play was acted by the King's Men at the Blackfriars Theatre....
.

Lord Byron lived in Ravenna between 1819 and 1821, led by the love for a local aristocratic and married young woman, Teresa Guiccioli

Teresa, Contessa Guiccioli

Teresa, Contessa Guiccioli was the Mistress of George Gordon Byron whilst he was living in Ravenna, Italy, and writing the first five cantos of Don Juan....
. Here he continued the Don Juan
Don Juan (Byron)

Don Juan is a long, digressive satiric poem by George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron, based on the Don Juan, which Byron reverses, portraying Juan not as a womaniser but someone easily seduced by women....
and wrote the Ravenna Diary, My Dictionary and Recollections.

Oscar Wilde

Oscar Wilde

Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde was an Irish people playwright, Irish poetry and author of numerous short stories and one novel. Known for his biting wit, he became one of the most successful playwrights of the late Victorian era in London, and one of the greatest Celebrity of his day....
wrote a poem in 1878 entitled .

Russian Symbolist poet Alexander Blok

Alexander Blok

Aleksandr Aleksandrovich Blok was one of the most gifted lyrical poets produced by Russia after Alexander Pushkin....
wrote a poem entitled Ravenna (May-June 1909) inspired by his Italian journey (spring 1909).

During his travels, German poet Hermann Hesse

Hermann Hesse

Hermann Hesse was a German-Switzerland poet, novelist, and painter. In 1946, he received the Nobel Prize in Literature. His best-known works include Steppenwolf , Siddhartha , and The Glass Bead Game which explore an individual's search for spirituality outside society....
came across Ravenna and was inspired to write two poems of the city. They are entitled Ravenna (1) and Ravenna (2).

In film

Michelangelo Antonioni

Michelangelo Antonioni, Italian orders of merit was an Italian people modernist film director....
filmed his 1964 movie Red Desert (Deserto Rosso) within the industrialised areas of the Pialassa valley within the city limits.

Twin towns

Ravenna is twinned

Town twinning

Town twinning, also known as sister cities, is a concept whereby towns or city in geographically and politically distinct areas are paired, with the goal of fostering human contact and cultural links between their inhabitants....
with: Chichester

Chichester

Chichester is a cathedral city status in the United Kingdom in West Sussex, England. It has a long history as a settlement; its Ancient Rome past and its subsequent importance in Anglo-Saxon times are only its beginnings....
, United Kingdom

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom , the UK or Britain,is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe....
Dubrovnik

Dubrovnik

||-|File:Main street-Dubrovnik-2.jpg|-|File:Old City, Dubrovnik.jpg|-|File:Dubrovnik-F.Tudjman-Bridge.jpg|-|File:Onofrio's Fountain, Dubrovnik, Croatia.JPG...
, Croatia

Croatia

Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a Central European country at the crossroads of Pannonian Plain, Balkans, and the Mediterranean Sea....
, since 1969 Speyer

Speyer

Speyer is a city in Germany with approx. 50,000 inhabitants, located beside the river Rhine. It lies 25 km south of Ludwigshafen and Mannheim....
, Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium, and the Netherlands....
, since 1989 Chartres

Chartres

Chartres is a town and Communes of France and capital of the Eure-et-Loir Departments of France in north-central France It is located southwest of Paris in central France....
, France

France

France , officially the French Republic , is a country whose Metropolitan France is located in Western Europe and that also comprises various Overseas departments and territories of France....
, since 1957 Tønsberg

Tønsberg

is a List of cities in Norway and Municipalities of Norway in Vestfold Counties of Norway, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of T?nsberg....
, Norway

Norway

Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a constitutional monarchy in Northern Europe that occupies the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula....

External links

Official website
(1913) by Edward Hutton, from Project Gutenberg
Project Gutenberg

Project Gutenberg, abbreviated as PG, is a volunteer effort to digitize, archive and distribute cultural works, as founder Michael Hart said "To encourage the creation and distribution of eBooks."....
Ravenna's early history and its monuments
(photos)