Ravenna

Mosaic of St. Thomas - how could I resist?

Writing 2008.05.29.0745 Hotel Abbazia, Venice, Italy

The following morning, we collected our cameras and guidebook and set off to catch the train to Ravenna. I was a bit leary as three of the four legs of the trip were unreserved, and as such did not have specific train numbers assigned (hence the internet research the night before). We boarded the train without incident, changing in Ferrara for the train to Ravenna. The equipment used for the train to Ravenna was a bit old looking and had the feel of a streetcar, although on the inside it was as modern and well kept as one could hope – it was quite comfortable. The landscape between Ferrara and Ravenna is very flat; heavily agricultural with irrigation canals criss-crossing the plain. There wasn’t much industrialization evident until we reached the station in Ravenna.

We arrived at ~1430 and walked through a very quiet town that was closed for lunch/siesta. Fortunately, the Basilica of San Vitale and the associated sites were open. The basilica dates from 547 AD and is of brick and mortar construction – any exterior façade is long gone, giving the building an elemental feel. Inside in the cool dimness is a large domed space facing an apse shimmering in color. In the rest of the building there was evidence of past decorations of later eras, but clearly it is the mosaics that are the feature of this site.

Click on the images for a larger view and narrative.

The common room of the Hotel Abbazia - the pulpit on the right.

Jonathan checking his pens on the train.

The sea of bicycles outside the train station in Ferrara. where we changed trains for Ravenna.

The countryside between Ferrara and Ravenna was very flat and very agricultural.

Jonathan in the courtyard at the Basilica of San Vitale.

Checking the camera.

A statue of an unidentified pope.

The apse with all the mosaics.

The mosaic above the lower windows.

Another view of the apse.

I used 'auto levels' on this shot to show some of the colors without the yellow overtones.

The ceiling decoration.

I had to really 'lean' on the filters to bring the photos from inside the Basilica into the visible range. Most of them were black, except for the windows, when I first opened them in Photoshop Elements.

The windows in the Basilica do not have glass in them, but use alabaster instead which imparts a warm golden glow to most to the images. A couple of the images below used a filter "auto levels" that allow you to see some of the colors without the domination of the golden light of the alabaster windows.

The new cathedral in Los Angeles, Our Lady of the Angels (a/k/a the Taj Mahoney, after Cardinal Mahoney who championed its construction), uses alabaster windows.

Jonathan's camera has faster "film speed" - if a digital camera can have film. The fastest my Olympus has is ISO 400, while Jonathan's Canon EOS goes to 1600. You ought to check his page for this day to see his shots of these mosaics.

The arch was decorated with mosaics of Christ (at the top) and the Apostles down each side.

Another shot of the top of the arch.

Some of the side of the arch on the right.

The left side of the arch - St. Thomas is about in the middle of the picture (and the top of this page).

Another use of 'auto levels' to show the color of the mosaics.

Alabaster windows.

Only one apse was decorated with the mosaics. Other parts of the church showed signs of later ornamentation.

These shots adjusted for shadow, resulted in the grainy quality that reminds me of etchings.

The quality of this shot is especially reminiscent of an etching.

The mosaics were not limited to the walls. The floors had a multitude of patterns also.

There was a labyrinth in front of the mosaic-filled aspe.

More floor mosaics.

Text from a sign outside the Mausoleum of Galla Placida:

The small cruciform building, known as the Mausoleum of Galla Placida, was erected in the second quarter of the 15th (sic) century (actually 425-430 AD according to Wikipedia). In origin the chapel was probably dedicated to St. Lawrence, a saint much venerated by the Valentinian and Theodosian Imperial family, who is depicted in the lunette on the wall facing the door. Built to the shape of a Latin cross it has a plain bare exterior fabric of short and large bricks, a traditional feature in the architecture of the whole of North Italy. Over the crossing of the two arms of the cruciform building is a dome, concealed on the exterior by a small quadrangular tower.

The interior of the Mausoleum displays a lavish amount of decoration: in its lower part it is covered by panels of marble, whereas in its upper part it is completely covered with mosaics. In the center of the dome vault, which is in itself a symbol of heaven, is depicted a glittering golden Latin cross surrounded by 570 golden stars arranged in concentric circles, their intense glitter lighting up the deep blue ground like a nocturnal sky.

In connection with the cross are the four living creatures of the Apocalypse: the lion, the calf, the man and the eagle, depicted in the pendentives of the cupola as if they were continuously praising God. Four pairs of Apostles with their right hands raised, the eschatological cross shining above are depicted on the four sides of the drum.

The pair above the left transept are St. Paul and St. Peter, easily recognizable for their typical iconographic traits: Paul holds a scroll and Peter is carrying keys. Between each pair of Apostles are peculiar decorative motifs: symbolizing the souls of upright men, two doves are either drinking from a water vessel or are standing by a fountain alluding to the solace of eternal life. Similarly in the lunettes of the transept, a pair of thirsty harts approaches a pool of water through a trellis of acanthus leaves (the scene illustrates Psalm 42: As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after Thee, O God).

In the transept barrel vaults are undoubtedly the four Apostles, thus bringing the total number of Apostles to twelve, including those in the drum lunettes. Worthy of particular note is the scene of the martyrdom of St. Lawrence: unlike the immobile and statuary Apostles, he moves with decision and his robes flowing out behind. In the Good Shepherd lunette over the entrance, is the youthful gold haloed Christ, and around Him, a group of sheep.

The Mausoleum of Galla Placida is one of the most extraordinary monuments of late Antiquity which have come down to us, both for its architecture and decoration. One of its most striking peculiarities is that it is both and Imperial mausoleum and an oratory dedicated to St. Lawrence. Although, as aforementioned, there is no concrete evidence as to the destination of the shrine, many elements seem to prove the hypothesis that the building was oringinally conceived as a mausoleum for the Imperial family: the pine cone at the top of the roof is a typical funerary symbol, the atmosphere of shadowy half light inside evoked by the mosaic, its narrowness and diminutive size of windows, as well as the iconographic program of decoration, all go to suggest it was a sepulcher.

The Mausoleum of Galla Placida has some fabulous mosaics inside, but it was too dark to get any pictures.

Flying buttresses on the exterior of the Basilica.

More exterior of the Basilica.

The exit from the Basilica to the Mausoleum.

A longer view of the Basilica from the Mausoleum.

The Basilica from a different side.

Outside on the grounds of the church was a smaller building, the mausoleum of Galla Placida, which also featured wonderful mosaics. The half-sister of Emperor Honorius initiated the construction of Ravenna’s more notable buildings (although it is not likely that she lies in the mausoleum that bears her name). We went to three other buildings to view the mosaics of that era – the Battistero Neoniano, the Basilica di Sant’Appollinare, and Chiesa di San Francisco. The last site was notable on two fronts – one is the mosaic floor in the crypt that’s under several feet of water (complete with goldfish), and the second is the tomb of Dante, who was buried here as he had been exiled from Florence. Unsuccessful upon trying relocate the poet’s body back Florence, the city of Florence supplies the oil for the lamp burning in the tomb eternally.

Click on the images for a larger view and narrative.

A bas-relief on the interior of the Battistero Nioniano.

A mosaic in the Battistero.

The interior of the dome of the Battistero Neoniano.

The procession of saints approaching Christ on the throne of heaven in the Basilica di Sant'Appollinare.

Christ is the dark robed figure to the left in this shot.

On the opposite wall, the procession of Virgins approach Mary on her throne in heaven.

The altar of the church.

A close-up of the procession of the Virgins - the figure on the right is one of the three Magi.

A display board of mosaic tesserae describing the renovation and restoration of these works.

The exterior of the church.

A close-up of the tower.

The mosaic on floor of the crypt of the Chiesa di San Francisco…

We wandered all around the inside of th church looking for the Tomb of Dante – it was outside.

The sarcophagus.

Another exterior shot of the tomb.

The oil lamp supplied by Florence in penance for exiling their famous son.

The interior of Ca' de Ven was a pleasure also…

…especially with all those bottles of wine in the cabinets.

On the train in Ravenna heading back to Venice by way of Ferrara.

Sunset over the countryside.

Jonathan on the platform of the train station in Ferrara, waiting for our connection to Venice.

After prowling through the assorted ecclesiastical sites, we went looking for food. Most places hadn’t opened for dinner yet, so we sat in a sidewalk café for drinks and ordered proscuitto and melon as we watched the scene in Piazza del Popolo. The portions of proscuitto were generous and the melon delightfully sweet and fragrant. The town had come back to life in the time we spent gazing at mosaics, with a remarkable level of bike traffic by people of all ages. Given the ancient layout of the town with its narrow twisting streets (as well as a compact geography) this made a lot of sense.

Afterwards, we went to a wine bar (enoteca), Ca’ de Ven where we had a Sangiovese that was smooth and rich and inexpensive. While there, we chatted with a couple from Atlanta and Chicago who rented a car to drive down from Venice and were relating the challenges of trying to get to their hotel in Ravenna.

We sauntered back to the train station and got back to Venice with no issues and had dinner in a touristy dive on the Grand Canal and got to bed by midnight.