Ravenna, A Poetry Written With Mosaics.

It was totally unexpected that I got a chance to travel to Italy in 2017. And, the most exciting part was that it was the first ever solo trip of my life. After an adventurous journey across the oceans and continents, I reached my destination which was an unknown corner for me in the map of Italy, a small but beautiful seaside town called Misano Adriatico which is located in the Province of Rimini in the Italian region of Emilia-Romagna. Even if it was a solo and my first international trip, I would say that it was the most unplanned travel I have ever had, as the primary purpose of the travel was academic and I was in a hurry making all the arrangements. All I had in my mind were the visits to the cities of Florence, Rome and Vatican, the must-visit destinations included in every travel itineraries to Italy. While we were approaching the first weekend, some of our faculty members gave us an insight about the nearby places for the weekend getaway, encouraging us to explore the places and utilise the opportunity to the maximum. That's how I heard about the mosaic beauty, Ravenna for the first time. I made up my mind to go to Ravenna along with some of my friends from the workshop. The train journey was almost an hour from Misano (80Kms Approx.) and in that first journey itself, we were fined, paying some extra euros for taking tickets on the train. (Thanks to the malfunctioned ticket vending machine at the station!) The conversion of the Euros to Indian rupees seriously gave me a heartache, but Ravenna had everything for me not to remember about the money loss.

Ravenna is a city in Emilia-Romagna region of Italy, known for the colourful mosaics adorning many of its central buildings. It was the capital city of the Western Roman Empire from 402 AD until the empire collapsed in AD 476. It then served as the capital of the Kingdom of the Ostrogoths until it was re-conquered in AD 540 by the Eastern Roman (Byzantine) Empire. It is known for its well-preserved late Roman and Byzantine architecture and has eight UNESCO World Heritage Sites.


The first sight and I had fallen in love with this place.
Entering the main city centre of Ravenna
From the Street Market
Cherries!
Strawberries.
Meet, any variety you want.
The first glance of architecture.
Look around and all you see is architecture and slice of blue sky.
   Mausoleum of Galla Placidia: 

 The monument is known for its beautiful mosaic interiors and its depictions. The history of the Mausoleum can be read here. 
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mausoleum_of_Galla_Placidia>


Mausoleum of Galla Placidia
Entering the Monument.
The famous mosaic work titled, "Garden of Eden"
The ceiling.
The mosaic work titled, "The Good Shepherd".
The light enters through the alabaster windows.
The traces of ancient everywhere.


Basilica San Di Vitale:
The Basilica built in AD 547 is one of the aptest examples of early Christian and Byzantine architectures in Europe. To know more,
 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basilica_of_San_Vitale.

Basilica of San Vitale
The first view.

Triumphal arch mosaics of Jesus Christ and the Apostles.
Zoom in.
The click for which I literally lied down on the floor amidst the visitors!


The amazing architecture utilizing the natural light.
The other side of the Basilica San Di Vitale.
Casa Del Mutilato di Guerra:

The Fascist Architecture which stands amidst all the other architecture, constructed during the rule of Benito Mussolini, Casa Del Mutilato di Guerra (Soldiers Mutilated and Invalid from War). The building design was commissioned from Camillo Guerra. A monument from the Second World War.




Casa Del Mutilato di Guerra

Every corner, you find a church.
The windows, doors and colours!

The Cross Roads.

The Tomb of Dante:
Durante degli Alighieri, very much known as Dante the author of "Divine Comedy" rests here. More about Dante and his tomb, here's the link. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tomb_of_Dante>



When found Dante as a surprise!

His bones were held at this mound from 1944 to 1945.
The Tomb of Dante, a Neo-Classical National Monument built over the tomb of Dante. 
In memory of Dante.
A sneak-peek to the prohibited.

Random art depictions everywhere.
Basilica of Sant'Apollinare Nuovo (504 A.D):
Tha basilica is known for its rich depictions with a fusion of western and eastern architecture of 5th and 6th Century A.D. 


Basilica of Sant'Apollinare Nuovo.
Both sides and the ceilings are filled with the mosaic depictions of apostles and saints.

The mosaic depiction of Apostles and Saints.

The Bapistry of Neon:
This is supposed to be the most ancient monument in the city. The ceiling has a mosaic depiction which is of John the Baptist baptizing Jesus. The centre is surrounded by the mosaic images of apostles.  For knowing more,
Inside the Bapistry of Neon.
The utilization of natural light is an amazing feature of the architecture.
The intrinsic work of sculpture inside the altar of a Basilica.

Famous or not, each and every church have a long history in this city and the depiction of art and sculpture is just mindblowing.

Adieu, Ravenna! Hoping to see you sometime.

In a day-long expedition through the ancient city, we tried to cover as much as we could as you have seen above. Briefing a city with a rich history in a small write-up and selected photos never do justice to the place. This is just a pinch of inspiration to all of you who travel to that part of the world to go and experience the exceptional mosaic artworks which are centuries old. It's always better to chuck some of those big cities for these smaller destinations. Cheers! :)

P.S: Please go through the provided links, for additional information. 









Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Willong Khullen: The Mysterious Stonehenge of India.

Image
Entering Willong Khullen. On the way to Yang Khullen is Willong Khullen, another small village in the Senapati district of Manipur. I heard about this village from some friends of my friend as they were explaining to me about the history and peculiarities of the region. The village is famous for its presence of the Megalithic Stonehenge which is similar to that of England. While we go to the English land to have a first hand experience of the Stonehenge, unfortunately, we are totally ignorant of our own rich heritage sites. Except for the people from the vicinity of the village who always lived with these stone structures, nobody knows about the presence of a Stonehenge in this area. The Stonehenge of Willong Khullan. Northeast India is one of the major locations in the archaeological map of India for its prominent presence of Megalithic remains distributed around. What makes the case of the Stonehenge in Willong  Khullen curious is the mystery behind it. Nobody has
Read more

Maram Khullen, The Tale of a Traditional Village.

Image
Maram Khullen was the first among those villages I got to visit during my stay in Manipur. The journey was an uphill one and it added more scenic flavours as we went up covering each curve. The season was so dry that I couldn't enjoy much greenery and the day we visited the village was misty and cloudy too. Highly unfavourable for someone who wishes to capture good frames! Even then, the thought of having a live experience of being there in the village boosted the thrill.  Maram Khullen is the biggest and the oldest village which is home to the Maram Nagas. They speak the Maram language. The village continues to be the epitome in preserving the tribe's socio-cultural norms and its ethnicity. The village follows the Lunar Calendar, and its traditions and customs are dated based on it. The Maram Khullen still maintains the age-old tribal tradition of Kingship. The Maram Nagas were the only tribe among the Nagas who didn't consume pork till the advent of Christianity amon
Read more

How She Met Her Cameras !!!

Image
Before starting with my photo stories, I felt I should write about how I got introduced to the world of cameras and photographs. And, it's not just the inspiring learning process, but also the stories of how shortlived the cameras were in my life too. Someway or the other, I was the reason for each of the cameras stopped working at my house. I was the keeper of cameras, but the agency of damaging them was there recurring throughout my life. The first ever camera on which I had tried my hand was an old model of Kodak (Extralite 10),  the rectangular flat one, owned by my dad. On contrary to today's digital era and hundreds of retakes and editing options, I started my photography lessons in cameras which functioned with negatives with only a limited number of photographs that can be clicked. I remember times when among the 36 possible clicks almost 12-20 of the shots just turned out to be photographs of ships at the Cochin Shipyard from different angles and my dad
Read more

The Charminar Narratives.

Image
I came to Hyderabad in 2009. The city was never in my plans when I was thinking of my higher studies, even if I had appeared for the entrance exams. I won't say that I had fallen in love with the city immediately, from the first day or first few years. But gradually even without realising something has bound me to this one. Especially, the Old City. Till 2012 or 2013, I had never been to the Old City during Ramzan, I guess, it's after that first visit, I started to fall in love with Hyderabad. Thanks to the ones who introduced me to this festivity. It has always surprised me that the enormous crowd never suffocated the otherwise claustrophobic me. It's a photographer's paradise during the season. Capturing the Charminar and the colours of the shops and crowd in one frame is always a happy moment, but not necessary that you always find a suitable spot for taking photos amidst the crowd. The market has shops for everything including fruits, food, athar (the P
Read more

The Girl from the Hills...

Image
 My travel chronicles started from the day I cannot even remember, with the journeys to the tea estates of Peermade as my dad was working with a tea production company which was found in 1925. My grandparents and a few grand-uncles also shared a history of being part of the same tea company in different estates. Carady-Goody and Arnakal, these tea estates have a legacy which dates back to the Colonial Era of India. The travels to and fro the estates and the tours from the estate offices which covered almost every touristy places of Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka marked the beginning of my love for places and travels. Pashuppara Tea Estate   Peerumedu (as pronounced in Malayalam) is a hill station in the Idukki district of Kerala. The place is believed to have got the name from the Sufi Saint Peer Mohammed, as it is translated as "Hill of the Peer". The location has traces of a rich Neolithic History according to the Archaeologists. The townships Vandiperi
Read more

San Marino - A Tale of Castles...

Image
  From Misano Adriatico, almost an hour long journey will take you to this amazing and one of the smallest countries in the world, The Republic of  San Marino. After the Ravenna Chapter, while deciding on the next destination for the weekend, the definition for San Marino given by one of our senior faculty members was, "it's a fun country".  The images of San Marino was so alluring that we finalised on San Marino as our destination for that Sunday.  A mountainous micro-state surrounded by North-Central Italy is one among the world’s oldest republics. Retaining much of its historic architecture, the Capital City San Marino is situated on the slopes of Monte Titano. It's well known for its medieval walled old town and narrow cobblestone streets. The Three Towers, castle-like citadels dating back to the 11th century, sit atop Titano’s neighbouring peaks.  According to the general information available online, "the country takes its name from Marinus, a ston
Read more

Yang Khullen... A Less Known Nook of Manipur.

Image
Earlier this year when we were planning a trip to the North Eastern part of India, all I had in mind was to visit some well-known locations (if possible) as the trip was not merely a travel-focused one, but more of a stay. I was staying at my friend's place experiencing the Maram culture from a close watch (of which I will talk in detail in a separate post later). After some 10 days, she told me that we will visit some of those villages and I readily agreed. I didn't even ask her the names or peculiarities of the places, but was all set for an exploration as visiting certain villages in this part of the country is a golden chance. An outsider is not permitted to enter there easily. Even if you are from another tribe of the same state, you may need permission to enter some villages. The case of Yang Khullen is also the same. We started in the morning in a Scorpio from Maram Centre and reached Yang Khullen by afternoon 2:00 p.m. It took almost 3and half hours to reach the des
Read more