Ravenna: 26 November 2015

Wes and Marlow
26 November 2015
Bologna

Here is a final letter from Italy. It is about the day we spent in Ravenna. It is a story told by photographs. It is a story about humans who documented their lives one thousand and five hundred years ago. They did it using tiny pieces of colored glass. Mosaics. I have heard about Ravenna's mosaics. But walking into the churches and seeing them was stunning. They are visually ravishing. One can discuss the events they depict. And who paid for them. Who was in power. But one does not need to know a thing about them to be swept away by their brilliance.

We took the train from Bologna. We arrived within an hour and walked twenty minutes from the train station to see these buildings. It was very simple. Here are very few highlights.

The Basilica di Sant'Apollinare Nuovo. It was dedicated in the year, 504, by King Theodoric the Great, as his private chapel, his large private chapel. The walls are populated on one side with about fifty life size women. And on the other side with about fifty men. It might have been fun to know these fun loving men one thousand five hundred and eleven years ago.

Next up, the Basilica di Sant'Apollinare in Classe. It was consecrated on the ninth of May in the year five hundred and forty nine.Please note the fun loving adorable bravo ragazzo showing me how to enjoy the mosaic and not be so serious.

Then, we have the Mausoleo di Galla Placidia.This brick building feels more intimate than it's forty feet long and thirty feet wide size. Just inside the door, in the center of the room is this ceiling that depicts a starry blue night with eight hundred gleaming gold stars making concentric circles around a cross that faces east. The building and it's mosaics were created around the year four hundred and thirty.


Finally, we visited the "grand finale", "bet you can't top this", "save he best for last" church, The Basilica di San Vitali.The Byzantines finished this basilica in the year five hundred and forty eight. The images depicted on it's walls are a who's who of the era. The cast is comprised of the top religious figures, Jesus himself in the center of the arch surrounded by his apostles. Biblical characters and events. Dolphins with tails intertwined. Birds and lambs. Before there was photography there were mosaics. Clear, distinct, detailed images. Moments frozen in time. Yet, aside from the content, the composition, the brilliance of the materials and the fact of their survival through fifteen centuries, they are inexpressibly special.

To conclude our journey, I offer two photos for those who like lions. One, is a large centuries old canvas in the city museum.The other, is from the ceiling of University's first campus building from the sixteenth century. Every square inch of the walls and ceilings of every corridor, staircase and class room is painted. This lion is one of the highlights and is dedicated to Myrna.

Lots of love from Bologna

Wes and Marlow
26 November 2015
Bologna