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Art and culture in the province of Ravenna
Ravenna and its province, which partially develops along the Adriatic Coast and partially extends across the hinterland of Emilia-Romagna, attract millions of tourists every year. The historic and artistic wealth of this provincial capital involves not only the old town but also the lidos of Ravenna, which cherish important evidences of the past.
Starting from 45 A.D., the Roman Empire transformed the marshy territory of Ravenna overlooking the Mediterranean in the most important eastern trade centre with the building of the colossal military harbour of Classe. The archaeological site of the ancient Roman city of Classe was discovered in 1800 during the building of the new railway. Another popular tourist mecca in Classe is the Basilica of San Apollinare, a wonderful example of early Christian art consacrated in 547 and linked to an important moment in the history of Ravenna and its province, that is to say when Ravenna was appointed the capital of the Western Roman Empire in 402 A.D.
At the time, while Ravenna developed as the centre of imperial power, as evidenced by the ancient weapons, the archaeological and sepolchral finds and the palatine chapel hosted by the National Museum, the importance of the church increased and Ravenna was transformed into a powerful ecclesiastic centre. The old town of the city boasts rich evidences linked to this phase of religious and politic power, such as the Basilica of S. Giovanni Evangelista, the Neonian Baptistery and the Mausoleum of Galla Placidia. The mosaics cherished by these buildings, the most ancient and wonderful examples of mosaic art, make Ravenna an important city to discover artistic techniques dating back to the Roman-Hellenistic Age.
The following historic phase was characterized by the fall of the Western Roman Empire (476 A.D.) and the conquest of Ravenna and the surrounding territories by Teodorico, the king of the Ostrogoths. Among the most famous Aryan buildings are the Baptistery of the Aryans, S. Apollinare Nuovo and the Mausoleum of Teodorico.
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In the VIth century, the Eastern Empire reconquered Ravenna and re-established the previous religious and political order. The large archbishop's see commissioned the building of new places of worship, as well as the modification of the previous Aryan buildings. The most important Byzantine masterpieces, which have been appointed UNESCO Human Heritage, were realized by artists and craftsmen who arrived in Classe and were involved in the big plan designed to rebuild Ravenna. In the building sites of the Basilica of San Vitale and S. Apollinare in Classe, materials and techniques coming from Bisanzio were used to make Ravenna and its province a unique artistic centre due to the combination of local and Oriental styles.
The city of Ravenna is the seat of important cultural events, such as the annual celebration dedicated to Dante, whose mortal remains are cherished by the Dante Chapel and whom the Dante Centre of the Friars Minor Conventual in Ravenna is named after, and the Ravenna Festival, an internationally renowned music review.
It is also possible to make some interesting excursions in the hinterland to reach other cultural and artistic cities such as Lugo, with its important eighteenth-century theatre named after Gioacchino Rossini and built by Antonio Galli Bibiena which hosts an important opera season, and Brisighella which still retains Medieval fortifications, ancient places of worship and narrow streets surrounded by green woods and rocky paths.
Faenza, an artistic city of ancient origins, is internationally renowned due to its pottery. Faenza pottery, exported and renowned all over the world, constitutes a great artistic heritage. The old town currently hosts 60 workshops where artistic pottery is manufactured, and the International Pottery Museum gives visitors the possibility to admire the most beautiful pottery realized from the Middle Ages up to the present age.
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