Wednesday, July 4, 2018
In Ravishing Ravenna
Breakfast in the lobby of our hotel in Ravenna was truly fit for a king. The dining room was filled with academics who would soon leave for their conference on Lord Byron. I had to take a call from my Italian friend Annalisa who, sadly, I would not see on this trip. We spent a great deal of time catching up on the phone—which meant I lost breakfast time. Still, I managed to fill up on rolls, cheese, salami and ham, muesli with hot milk, fruit and a decaff Americano. This served us well for the day of sightseeing that lay ahead. It was not long before we left our hotel and headed out to take in the marvels of the city.
Ravenna is noted for its Byzantine mosaics that were done in the early centuries when Christians and Christian artists around the area of Rome were being persecuted for their depictions of Biblical scenes. Many of the artists fled to Ravenna where their talents found full expression in the many churches, mausoleums and burial tombs that marked the lives of the wealthy who also patronized these artists.
Accordingly, we set out to discover their work. Most of them are confined to about 6 monuments that are sprinkled around the city—with two of them to be found at a further distance that requires transport to reach. We decided to confine ourselves to the ones that could be reached on foot. There is a ticket one can buy for 15 euros that permits entry into five of the monuments that are walking distance away from each other.
But before we used our map to get to the Ticket Office, we took in the delights of Piazza Byron which reminded me very much of the main piazza in Vicenza in the Veneto. This great city of Andrea Palladio sports twin columns that rise up high to feature well-known icons in the religious pantheon. Here too, in Piazza Byron, I found the same concept. The wide, classical square had twin columns that gave it character and was ringed by grand official buildings that today hide eateries, restaurants and shops. We took a few pictures in this area and then began our walking route to the first couple of churches.
The Mausoleum of Galla Placidia:
The very first building we entered, as we passed by the atmospheric Cathedral of St. Vitale was a mausoleum to a first century noblewoman known as Galla Placidia. It is a circular monument—very much in the style of the Rotunda that Andrea Palladio would later popularize. Lighting was dim in this space, but when we entered we were absolutely awed by the ceiling that was created by using tesserae(tiny pieces of stone in varied colors) that are then pieced together to form a massive jigsaw puzzle that ends up creating a pattern. On this ceiling, there were rondels that resembled flowers. Further into the space, we saw a ceiling of golden stars. Since a great many of the mosaic pieces were in gold, they actually glowed softly in the darkness--the effect was simply astonishing. On the four sides of the tomb were semi-circular vignettes that formed scenes from the Bible. They were so intricately created as to take our breath away. Once our eyes got used to the semi-darkness, we were able to see the ancient sarcophagus of Galla Placidia as well as another one of her contemporaries. They are buried in simple stone coffins that, being indoors, have stood the effect of the elements rather well. It is truly impossible to try to describe exactly what we saw as words cannot do the scenes and the talents of these artisans the justice they deserve.
The Church of Saint Vitale:
Right by the Mausoleum of Galla Placidia is the Basilica of St. Vitale. We crossed a well-definite path to get there and admired, in the process, the ancient stone buttressing that provided stability and carried part of the weight of the massive church. In this church too, which has a Baroque-style painted dome, the walls (particularly on one side) are simply covered with mosaics depicting heavenly hosts, angels, a string of profiles of saints and all manner of smaller iconography. The floor is also covered with carpet-like marble mosaics in geometric designs (as might have covered the floors of Pompeii).
Looking up on all this grandeur, we could only gasp and hope that our cameras would capture some of the impact that these exquisite man-made creations had on us. But, when I look at my pictures now, although they jerk my memory, they do not come close to communicating how awesome these works were and what sort of an impact they had on us. In fact, this church offered a strange mixture of Byzantine mosaics and Baroque décor which indicated to us how interior decoration of ecclesiastical spaces changed through the centuries. I realized when I saw the interiors of these churches why visitors come to Ravenna and what it is that they write home about.
The Church of Saint Appollonaire Nuovo:
The next place to which our rambles led us was the Church of Saint Apollonaire Nuovo whose design, once more, reminded me of the early churches we had seen in Israel. Built on an arched base, the dome and a bell-tower arise in this space—somewhere they reminded me of Islamic mosque design (similar to the domes and minarets of a mosque).
At the entrance to each church, we had to show our ticket which we had purchased at the beginning of our tour. These were punched as we entered and visited each church. Inside, this church, we were completely struck by the long procession of saints on one side of the walls marching towards Christ. On the other side was a similar procession of vestal virgins making their way to the Virgin Mary. Each one of the characters on these walls had their names clearly spelled out in Roman letters so that we could read them very easily. The detail was uncanny as was the definition of their features. Mind you, all of this was achieved through the use of millions of pieces of tiny stones of the same size to create whole walls and carpets of mosaic. And even though the principle was basically the same and we were actually seeing the same technique over and over, we did not get bored or feel as if we were looking at the same thing. This is because the subjects executed are different as is the style of depiction. On top of the procession of personages were vignettes from the Bible. Delyse managed to spy the one we had seen, two months ago, in the Walsh Art Gallery at Fairfield University where a picture of one of the vignettes had clearly been labelled as being from this church. We decided to see if we could spot it—it featured a shepherd surrounded by his sheep. Delyse said that she merely looked for sheep and she was able to spy it—much to her delight.
As if all this eye-candy were inadequate, we were completely taken by the Baroque grandeur of the altar area that was thickly decorated with marble sculptures and statues, marble columns and painted ceilings. This helped us realize how much the interior decoration of a church changed or was influenced by the style of the different eras through which it has stood.
In Search of Dante…but first the Cistern in the Church of St. Francis:
We had come to Ravenna specially to see its mosaics. Little did we dream that we would also find Dante. For Italy’s best-known poet was hounded out of the city of his birth, Florence, by his critics. In an attempt to escape, he settled in Ravenna, where he eventually died. His remains are very reverently regarded in this city and millions of visitors come here each year to pay him homage.
Following in their footsteps, we set out to find Dante’s remains. But en route, we passed by the Church of St. Francis. Inside, it was a very simple and stark church indeed with not much to commend it except for one unique feature—it concealed a cistern beneath the main altar. This sight would have been completely startling to me had not I seen a similar sight in Istanbul, Turkey, in what is known as the Basilica Cistern—a large underground space that was built by the Emperor Justinian in the first century AD and in which you can actually see fish. Well, it was the same here. We actually saw fat goldfish swimming in this cistern that had a vast mosaic floor with lettering on it that appeared like a magical carpet every time a light went on—which one had to pay to switch on. This was the most unique feature amongst all the churches we visited on this trip.
Dante’s Mausoleum:
Finally, we arrived at the venue of Dante’s mausoleum—a simple but very elegant tomb that contains a symbolic sarcophagus that is lit by a single oil lamp. Oil for this lamp is sent by the people of Florence to Ravenna as a form of penance for the unjust manner in which they had treated their national poet. You climb up a few steps and find yourself in a little marble space that is both solemn and evocative of the hostile world in which Dante lived. Right in front is a bas-reliefdepicting the poet contemplating pages on a desk-stand.
Right by the mausoleum is a small garden-cum-cemetery. Here, there is an ivy-clad mound that has a square marble tombstone attached to it. In Italian, it declares to the viewer that Dante’s bones lie buried under it—in a sort of ossuary. There is also a bell-tower in the garden whose bell is rung daily at the time of day when Dante passed away. Large numbers of visitors come to this spot to pay their respects.
The Baptisterio Neonniano (the Neri Baptistry):
As we moved away from the area associated with Dante, we passed the beautifully -maintained palazzo where the Byron Conference was being held. We saw the conference delegates seated in the courtyard of the palazzo listening to a live music concert and we too paused to listen for a few minutes.
Further on, following our map, we arrived at the octagonal Baptistry Neri into which we entered by showing our tickets. This space is dominated by a vast octagonal Baptismal font which, no doubt, served exactly this purpose, many centuries ago. The central dome is covered with a mosaic of Jesus in the River Jordan being baptized by St. John the Baptist. The sides and walls of this dramatic interior is also covered with mosaics that feature a large number of saints marching around the interior. There is a small white marble altar that dates back to the early centuries of Christianity and contribute to the sanctity of the space.
The National Museum and the Chapel of St. Andrew:
Literally next door to the Baptistry is the National Museum which one can also enter on the ticket we had bought. Inside, on the upper storey, we were treated to all sorts of architectural fragments from varied classical monuments all over Ravenna that have fallen over time due to many earthquakes. Known as the Museo Arcivescoville, it is known for its beautifully concealed small chapel of St. Andrew which is also covered with the most exquisite mosaics. Once again, we spent time taking pictures and trying to capture the minute detail of the subjects and the backgrounds against which they have been portrayed.
The museum is also notable for a fabulous ivory throne or chair that depicts scenes in bas-relieffrom the life of Christ. It belonged to one of the more noteworthy prelates of the early church. Although some of the panels have been lost, the overall remains are quite marvelous for the depth of detail.
Another noteworthy item in the museum’s collection is an Easter Calendar that was intricately created in marble and engraved in order to point out the dates on which Easter would fall each year. I found its conception and execution quite ingenious indeed—especially for its time.
And with that we had gone through all five items on the ticket that we could see without having to venture too far away.
Off to the Beach—The Marina di Ravenna:
Since Ravenna was not too far from the coast, Nafisa was eager to make an excursion to the beach. I am not sure exactly what she hoped to find there but when we made inquiries, we discovered that the easiest way to get there, when time was short, was by a taxi. Accordingly, we hailed one outside the museum and told him to take us to the Marina di Ravenna and off he sped.
The ride took us way out of the precincts of the city of Ravenna and way out into its more industrial parts. Finally, when we did arrive at the beach, he dropped us off at the marina and left us to make our way across the sands.
The sun was mercilessly hot and by his time it was about 3.00 pm—so you can imagine how uncomfortable it was to walk on the burning sands towards the water. Still, we soldiered on, hoping to find a small patch of shade somewhere under which we could park. Alas, there was none to be found except for the small rings of shade thrown by the beach umbrellas of the hotels on the waterfront. We appropriated the use of a small table ourselves and as we dipped our toes into the soothingly cool waters of the Adriatic Sea, we also posed for some pictures. If Nafisa expected to find a very pretty coastline, I think she might have been mistaken. This beach had nothing to say for itself except its width. It was a broad beach with fine whitish sand. It could also boast a fine marina for we could see dozens of sailboats anchored by the water’s edge.
Still, although there isn’t anything special to say about the Marina di Ravenna, Nafisa had her wish fulfilled and we were offered a change of scene from the antique roads through which we had trawled through our long travels.
More adventure presented itself as we tried to find the bus stop to get back to Ravenna. The heat of a cruel sun did nothing much to raise our spirits as we walked listlessly along the cross streets, stopping for a snack of fruit and ham and cheese rolls saved over from our breakfasts. A little later, we attempted to find the bus stop again and were overjoyed when we saw a bus sail past. We tried to flag the driver down, but he pointed us in the direction of the bus-stop to which we raced like teenagers! Long story short, we got the bus and away we went along the highway to Ravenna—this time paying only 3 euros each for our ticket!
Off to Milan:
Back in Ravenna, we had a couple of relaxed hours ahead of us. From the train station where the bus dropped us off, we walked to our hotel stopping en routeto poke our heads into some interesting shops. We explored Piazza Byron some more, Nafisa went again into the halal shop and ordered food for dinner for us all—delicious kebabs with salad and naans. And I found an Italian patisseriefrom where I purchased some wonderful Italian cookies. We bid goodbye to our hotel, picked up our cases, hopped into a cab and off we went by train towards the next lap of our travels—to Milan.
However, we had to go from Ravenna by a slow train to Bologna and it was only when we reached Bologna station and the Rapido train platforms way underground that we realized that we had tickets for a train that would be leaving a whole hour later than we thought. Not to be daunted, we sat calmly and ate our kebab dinner which was indeed very delicious and got ourselves some coffee from a local stand. An hour later, we were on the Rapido train speeding off to Milan.
When we arrived at Milan train station, I was completely struck by its hulking size. It is a humongous space and reminded me immediately of Grand Central Station in New York City or Union Station in Washington DC. It has a soaring ceiling, massive lions that flank its entrance and all the trappings of the 19thcentury train station that made them temples of transportation. Our hotel in Milan was called Hotel Nettuno. It was located in a busy part of downtown. We took a taxi that sped us off to our hotel which was not far away as the crow flies—but again, having baggage puts a different construction on things.
As we had already eaten dinner, we merely readied ourselves for bed and hoped to rest well as the next day had many more delights to offer.
Until tomorrow, arrivederci…
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