We’ve seen a number of mosaics on this trip, but the ones we saw in Ravenna yesterday are my favourites, so far.
The Three Kings in Sant’Apollinare Nuovo, Ravenna
The mosaics in Monreale Cathedral were beautiful of course, but the colours in the Ravenna mosaics are so bright, and are such beautiful colours (a lot of blue and green, which are my favourites).
Male saints carrying holy relics, Sant’Apollinare. They are holding the relics in gloved hands, or pieces of cloth, as they shouldn’t be touched with bare skin.
I’ve been looking into the making of mosaics at this time (6th century, when Ravenna, for some 400 years, was the capital of the Western Roman Empire) and they were composed of coloured glass, which has the advantage of being lighter and brighter than stone or marble. The colour was obtained by adding metal oxide to ordinary glass during manufacture. For gold, gold leaf was sandwiched between two thin layers of glass.
Christ, Sant’Apollinare. OK, this is a cheat. It’s a photograph of a photograph.When you look at the mosaic close-up, some of the colours look a little strange, like the orange pieces on Christ’s face, but looked at from a distance, it all works. It’s amazing how the mosaicists could work at close quarters on something that would be seen at a distance.Female Saints carrying holy relics, Sant’Apollinare
In all, we visited six sites at a very leisurely pace as they are all so close together, and the queues were non-existent, or minimal.
The second site was the Battistero Neoniano, next to the rather plain Duomo. The baptistry was built over the site of a Roman bathhouse.
Baptismal bath for total immersion baptisms, Battistero Neoniano Ceiling, Battistero Neoniano In the centre of the ceiling is Christ’s baptism. The man on the right is a personification of the River Jordan
Our third stop was the church of San Vitale (born in Milan and buried alive in Ravenna).
San VitaleChrist is offering San Vitale the martyr’s crownCeiling, San VitaleThe Sacrifice of IsaacMoses and the Burning Bush
Next, we visited the Mausoleum of Galla Placidia, a Queen consort from the fifth century. Although this is her Mausoleum, Galla is buried in Rome, and not here.
Mausoleum of Galla PlacidiaBeing a mausoleum, there have to be references to an afterlife. These are the four winged living beings, which, according to Revelations, announce the coming of the Saviour. From top left, going clockwise, they are the eagle, the man, the calf and the lion.St Lawrence (or San Lorenzo) walking towards his martyrdom. The legend goes that after lying on the bed of coals, Lawrence told his tormentors that one side was well done, and he should be turned over. Apparently, he is the patron saint of cooks and chefs. Was this decided by someone with a sense of humour?More mosaics, Mausoleum of Galla Placidia. The window is alabaster. Close-up of one of the beautiful alabaster windows
Next was our second baptistery, this time Battistero degli Ariani.
Ceiling, Battistero Degli ArianiChrist’s baptism, Battistero Degli Ariani
Our last stop for mosaics was the Archiepiscopal Museum with St Martin’s Church and one or two other exhibits.
Ceiling, St Martin’s Church. There are those winged creatures again.Apse, St Martin’s ChurchIvory bishop’s throne, fifth century. I find it difficult to marvel at a thing like this, thinking of the poor elephants.Calendar for working out the date for Easter for the years 532-626
Our final stop was not to view mosaics, but to visit Dante’s tomb. This had the longest queue (I wonder if this had anything to do with it being the only free site).
Dante’s Tomb
After exile from Florence, Dante made his way to Ravenna where he died in 1321. The lamp is fed by oil given by the city of Florence – to make amends possibly.
My husband, Mark, and I have just sold our house and are taking a year out to have an adventure before we settle down to retirement. We decided on a journey through Italy as it has the perfect combination of good weather, interesting history, great wine and wonderful ice-cream! As we will be starting our journey in January, we are beginning in the very south of the country.
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