Hello Starpeople,
Firstly, I would love to thank you for the many feedbacks about WikiBites we received so far. You can still let us know what you think about our newsletter and submit you suggestions in this form.
Last Sunday I visited Ravenna, a tiny but picturesque city in northern Italy. I've wanted to go there for a long time to see by myself the magnificent byzantine mosaics for which Ravenna is famous all over the world and to visit Dante’s tomb: perhaps the greatest poet that ever lived (change my mind 😎 ).
So, needless to say that in this week’s WikiBites I will write about Ravenna. If you want to know more, I’ve been posting the pictures of the monuments I visited on Rigel’s Instagram page.
Since this history post will be longer than usual, this WikiBites issue will include only an article: you can let me know how many articles, and about which topics, you would love to read in WikiBites by answering the aforementioned form.
🏛 THE BYZANTINE REVOLUTION IN RAVENNA
Ravenna was made the capital of the Western Roman Empire by emperor Honorius in 402 CE to ensure better protection for Italy against the invasions of the barbarians. With the fall of the Western Empire in 476, it became the capital of the first barbarian ruler of Italy, Odoacer, then of the Ostrogoth king Theuderic in 493. In 540 Ravenna was occupied by the great Byzantine general Belisarius and became the administrative center of Byzantine power in Italy.
Although it was the capital of the most powerful empire in history, nothing remains of Ravenna's ancient Roman structures. Ravenna owes its fame to its Christian monuments from the 5th and 8th centuries instead: Ravenna reflects in its art and architecture a fusion of Roman architectural forms with Byzantine mosaics, because of its history and the dominations from different civilizations.
Of those that can be seen today, one of the first monuments built in Ravenna is the mausoleum of Galla Placidia, built in the 5th century CE by Empress Galla Placidia, the sister of the emperor Honorius. The entire upper surface of the interior of the mausoleum is covered with mosaics on a blue background.
Despite being referred to as “mausoleum”, it is quite certain that it was not the tomb for the empress, since she reportedly died in Rome.
The most impressive monuments from the reign of the Ostrogoth king Theuderic are his mausoleum and the Basilica of Sant'Apollinare Nuovo.
The basilica was built in 505, but after the conquest of the city by the Byzantine Empire all the buildings linked to Arianism were switched to the Catholic cult.
The mosaics, inspired by the Arian religion, were removed and the basilica was decorated from scratch.
Only a few mosaics were maintained, including those showing the Port of Classe and of the Palatium of Theodoric, although all the portraits, which probably depicted Theuderic himself and to his officials, were removed.
Finally, the church of San Vitale represents the masterpiece of Byzantine art in Ravenna.
It was completed during the reign of Emperor Justinian and was consecrated in 547. It is an octagonal church and is one of the finest examples of Byzantine architecture in Western Europe. The mosaics of the presbytery of the church are strongly influenced by similar works in Constantinople. They depict characters from the Old and New Testaments, as well as the Emperor Justinian and his wife Theodora.
The exarchate of Ravenna was finally divided by revolts and invasions from 726 onwards: in 751 Ravenna fell to the Lombards, who lost it to the Franks in 754.
King Peppin the Short then gave Ravenna to the Pope in 757, giving birth to the Papal States.