The Italian city of Ravenna is in the areaEmilia-Romagna, ten kilometers from the Adriatic Sea. The houses in the lanes of this village are so neat, bright, clean, perfectly fitting each other like pieces of a mosaic. The nobility of world-renowned Christian churches seems to be spread throughout the ancient city.
Ravenna: attractions. Basilica of San Vitale
This is probably one of the most famous and significantByzantine churches of Europe. Its design is unusual, but the interior is especially interesting. The mosaics of the Basilica of San Vitale in Ravenna are the greatest works of art that have no equal in the world.
Construction of the church of San Vitale began in 527year, after the return of the Bishop of Ravenna from Byzantium. The temple was erected at the expense of the Greek percentile and was consecrated in honor of Vitaly of Milan. Over time, the design of the basilica has changed. So, in the XIII century, the bell tower was built, in the XVI century, fearing flooding, the city authorities decided to raise the entire basilica above ground level.
The structure has specific featuresdesigns that turned the church into a standard for subsequent religious buildings in the style of the Carolingian Renaissance. You can admire the interior of the church for hours. Most of the room is decorated with an ornament of marble slabs, but all the arches and circles are lined in Byzantine style mosaics: the paintings depict early Christian themes. Here you can see portraits of the Roman emperor Justinian and his spouse with a retinue, scenes from the Old Testament - the appearance of a burning bush to Moses, the sacrifice of Abel, etc.
Baptistery of Ariana
The Arian baptistery was built in the 6th century, withKing Theodoric. This event happened a hundred years later than the Neon Baptistery was built. Ravenna (Italy) has two facilities of this kind, which are very similar in appearance. Both are small, octagonal, made of the same brick.
But the interior decoration of these structuressignificantly different. Since the baptistery was intended for the rite of baptism, it is decorated with appropriate images. On the dome there is a scene from the mosaic of the baptism of Christ. The paintings in the Baptistery of Ariana are made in a geometrized style. The ostgoths were notable craftsmen who understood the art of gold forging, but not artistic mosaics. Therefore, researchers believe that the patterns in the Baptistery of Ariana, as, indeed, in the Orthodox baptistery of Neon, were laid out by Orthodox Christians. Besides the mosaic on the dome, there are no more decorative elements in the baptistery.
Tomb of dante
Ravenna attracts tourists from all over the world.The sights of this city are unique. For example, on Aligieri Street, near the Basilica of St. Francis, is the tomb of the author of the Divine Comedy - the great Dante. Many people wonder why the Florentine was buried in Ravenna. This is a really interesting story.
Exile from Florence
According to historians, Dante was involved inconflict between ghibellins and guelphs. After defeating the enemy, the Guelphs split into two factions — the “blacks” and the “whites” —and they began a fierce struggle among themselves. Dante belonged to the Whites, who were defeated in 1301. The poet was sentenced to exile and a large fine was imposed. In case of non-payment upon returning to Florence, according to the laws of that time, it could be burned at the stake.
Dante, who passionately loved his native Florence,hard going through the link. All the pain of loss he expressed in Paradise. After the death of the poet in Florence, "suddenly" realized that her late citizen was a great national poet, and demanded that the authorities of Ravenna give his ashes. In 1519, Pope Leo X ordered the release of the remains of the poet, who were to be transported to Florence. The sarcophagus was delivered, but it was empty.
Unsuccessful return of the dust
As it turned out later, Equal Franciscansmade a hole in the tomb, removed the remains from it and secretly buried them in the monastery of Sienzo. In 1810, the monks left the monastery and hid the coffin in Bracciofort, which in our day is not far from the tomb of Dante. The coffin was discovered during construction in 1865. However, as early as 1829, a tomb was built for Dante in Florence. Since then, it is empty.
The internal structure of the tomb
Narrow and quiet leads to the tomb of Dante in Ravennaa street at the end of which a rather modest but worthy memorial is visible. It is made in the neoclassical style in 1780 by Camillo Morigia. Inside is an urn with a Latin epitaph, which was composed in 1327 by Bernardo Canaccio. Above the urn there is a bas-relief of the work of P. Lombardo, which depicts a poet immersed in thoughts. He works sitting at his desk. Previously, this bas-relief was part of the interior of the tomb of Dante, located in the church of St. Francis. Ravenna, whose landmarks are very carefully guarded by the authorities and local residents, can rightfully be proud of the priceless monuments located on its territory.
Mausoleum of Theodoric
This rather modest outwardly and small onThe size of the mausoleum is located on the outskirts of the city. It was built by the Ostrogoth king for his future repose. Many locals believe that without this monument Ravenna (Italy) is unthinkable. The thing is that the city has not preserved more purely Gothic monuments. In addition, Theodoric was not a Christian monarch, which makes his tomb a unique in some way structure.
Многие туристы в отзывах отмечают, что их amazed Ravenna. The sights of the city are very different. For example, after seeing this mausoleum, no one thinks that this building can seriously impress, especially after seeing the monumental and majestic basilicas of the city. This is a small tower built of limestone, having a central dome, the diameter of which does not exceed ten meters. The mausoleum was built on the site of the ready-made cemetery in those days, in the suburb of Ravenna.
When Ravenna passed into the hands of the emperor of RomeJustinian, the remains of Theodoric carried out of the mausoleum and began to use the building as a chapel. Therefore, tourists should be aware that no one is buried in Theodoric's mausoleum: the dark red sarcophagus is empty.
The construction of the mausoleum is two-level, ten-sided.On the upper floor there is a tomb room, in the lower section there is a chapel. Both inside and outside the walls of the mausoleum have no decorations. Inside there is no decorative furniture, except for the sarcophagus - a powerful block of porphyry, in which a special “bath” is carved. Today, the sarcophagus stands open, without a cover, right in the center of the building.
Dome of the mausoleum
If you happen to be in Ravenna,Be sure to visit the mausoleum and pay attention to its dome. It is hewn from solid stone weighing more than three hundred tons. It was impossible to lift such a large object in those early times, but the builders found an original solution - the mausoleum was completely covered with earth, the huge dome was dragged up and then the earth was removed.
We only told you about somesights that Ravenna is famous for. The city is a wonderful, interesting places here. We hope that you will have the opportunity to visit Italy and see the interesting places of Ravenna with your own eyes.
