Ravenna, vista esterna dell'abside di San Giovanni Evangelista da un giardino fiorito.

Ravenna, facciata della basilica di San Giovanni Evangelista vista dal portale marmoreo.

Archeological sites

Basilica of San Giovanni Evangelista

The Ravenna’s medieval history and culture encyclopaedia

Ravenna, lunetta del portale marmoreo con il miracolo del Sandalo.

Ravenna, basilica di San Giovanni Evangelista veduta interna verso l'abside.

It was built by Galla Placidia in the 5th century. Although it has lost its ancient wall mosaics, it is still one of the oldest and most elegant churches in the city. Inside, hanging on the side walls, are interesting floor mosaics from the 13th century.

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History

It is one of the oldest churches in the city, built after 424 AD as an imperial palace basilica. It was commissioned by the Empress Galla Placidia as a votive offering to St John the Evangelist, the patron saint of sailors. A legend says that on the voyage from Constantinople to Ravenna, the saint saved Galla Placidia and her children from a terrible sea storm. The entrance is adorned with a 14th century portal that portrays the stories of the consecration and dedication of the basilica. The exterior has sleek lines, in simple red bricks. Next to it stands the 11th-century bell tower, about 42 metres high. The interior has a longitudinal plan, divided into three naves by two rows of 12 columns each, with splendid Corinthian capitals and pulvinos imported directly from Constantinople. The apse is polygonal, flanked by two squared chapels in oriental style, and it was decorated with 5th century mosaics, unfortunately lost forever. The church has undergone many changes over the centuries. Excavations have uncovered floor mosaics, commissioned by Abbot William from 1213, which depict the main events of the Fourth Crusade, literary stories and religious symbols.

Must-see mosaics in this place

Vai alla banca dati del mosaico

Conquest of Constantinople

This fragment narrates the Fourth Crusade (1202-1204). The conquest of Constantinople is immortalized here against a white background – in apparently untidy marble and limestone tesserae. Rows of black tiles elementally define the contours of the figures. A soldier, with a sword and wrapped in armour, confronts three clumsy men taken prisoner. Behind them, a tower and two red triangular roofs symbolise the city. The inscription Constantinople sets the scene, indicating that it is the city that is surrendering to the crusaders.

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Ravenna, mosaico pavimentale con la presa di Costantinopoli

Sailor blowing the horn

Against a white background of untidy marble and limestone tiles, a carefully defined boat stands out. Seemingly suspended over the waves of the sea, it has a walnut-shell hull, a hatch, a large rudder oar, a sloping foremast. The large triangular sail is inflated by the wind, engaged in a manoeuvre. Perched on the mast’s sighting basket stands a yellow-clad sailor: he puffs out his cheeks and blows a horn. A sign of alarm. During the Fourth Crusade, on 1 January 1204, the last emperor of Constantinople, Alexis V Ducas, known as Murzuflo (i.e. with bushy eyebrows), at the roadstead of the Golden Horn attempted to launch incendiary ships towards the Venetian fleet. Disaster was averted thanks to the watchful lookouts.

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Ravenna, mosaico pavimentale con suonatore di corno sulla nave.

The fox’s funeral

Within the frame with undulating branches and stylised heart-shaped leaves are two facing cockerels, carrying a fox, with a reddish-coloured cloak. It is the funeral of the fox Renart. The style is very concise and popular. This strange scene, widespread in medieval imagery especially in northern Europe, comes from Le roman de Renart. It is a series of tales written by various authors between 1170 and 1250. Animals behave like human beings, with the same vices and virtues, in a symbolic and ironical depiction of the world. The protagonist is the fox Renart, who embodies the archetype of the trickster. In this mosaic, the fox pretends to be dead but suddenly wakes up and grabs one of the two cocks by the neck, the poor Chanteclair.

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Ravenna, mosaico pavimentale con la scena dei funerali della volpe.

Mermaid with two tails

A mermaid with blond and braided hair holds the ends of her two scaly, somewhat repellent, tails with her hands. A cascade of yellow tesserae, with small interventions of black tiles, form their wavy hair. Green smalti tesserae define the arms and descend to form the two tails, defined in the scales by soft patterns of black and blue tesserae. The small pointed fins are rendered with triangular patterns of glass tesserae. The background is in white marble, punctuated by red and grey marble. The image of the mermaid is widespread in all forms of Romanesque art. The Bestiary was an encyclopaedia of animals, real or fantastic, interpreted in a symbolic key. The two-tailed mermaid symbolises lust, an expression of the demoniac world, which the good Christian must banish.

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