Ravenna is a city of art and culture, of mosaics. Ravenna was
an ancient city which 1,500 years ago was the capital of the western Roman Empire, of Theodoric King of the Goths and of the Byzantine
Empire in Europe.
The magnificence of that period has left Ravenna with a great heritage
of MONUMENTS and religious buildings decorated with mosaics which
have been declared patrimony of humanity by UNESCO. The art of
mosaics was not born in Ravenna but it did find its greatest level of
expression here where Christian iconology was born, a mixture of
symbolism and realism, of Roman and Byzantine influence. Here a
Latin hexameter on the walls of the Archbishop's chapel reads: Aut lux
hic nata est aut capta hic libera regnat… in other words "Or light born
here or imprisoned here, reigns free".
The beauty of the mosaics and harmony of the architecture are not
the only beauties. In Ravenna you can stroll among bell-towers and
monastic cloisters, the frescoes in Giotto style of Santa Chiara to the
baroque apse of Sant'Apollinare Nuovo. Ravenna is roman, gothic,
byzantine and also medieval, venetian and finally modern and
contemporary, civilized and hospitable, full of events and shows of
international prestige..
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