Ravenna-Ars et Fides

September 15:
I got up at 4:45 this morning to get ready and, with my roommates, get to the meeting point for the Ravenna bus by 6:50. We were early, probably because we had no crowds to fight! Florence looks very different at 6:30 am.
Our autostrada took us right through the Apennines, which were misty in the cool morning. The sun broke through as we were climbing the mountains around Florence’s valley and we could see the profiles of tens of peaks circling around. I would liken the mountain range to the Appalachians: they weren’t terribly high or overly rocky. The Appalachians have more dense vegetation while the Apennines are often covered in vineyards or are terraced. In the areas of sparse growth you can easily see the gravely soil. Another difference, besides the obvious architectural and agrarian, is the typical profile of an Apennine peak. It is more likely to be jagged. Some of them even looked like a child’s quintessential drawing of a mountain: a triangle with an irregular perimeter.
However, given their similarity in height to the Appalachians, I think I can safely say that the 26 tunnels (I counted them on the way back) we were obliged to travel through were a bit superfluous! I guess Italians do not like to drive uphill (no equivalent to the Virginia Turnpike here).
We stopped at an “AutoGrill,” an Italian chain of truckstops for breakfast and a break. I had a cappuccino (my first, I’m ashamed to admit) and a brioche. I don’t care if it did come from a gas station, the coffee was excellent.
We arrived in Ravenna in the province of Emilia-Romagna (very flat country about 8 miles from the Adriatic) around 10:00 where we stopped at the Mausoleum of Theodoric, a large funerary monument made of Istrian stone (as opposed to brick) and covered by a single circular block weighing about 300 tons. Apparently Theodoric was a Goth leader who was brought up in the court at Constantinople and ruled Ravenna at a time when Arianism (a belief that Christ existed as two persons: the Christ who was crucified was not the same Christ who performed the miracles) was the official cult of the area. There wasn’t that much to look at but the light in the upper chamber was very beautiful.
From there we went to Sant’Apollinare Nuovo, a church built as Theodoric’s palace chapel. Its nave walls were covered in mosaics, the upper register of which illustrated moments in Christ’s life. In observance of Arianism, one side featured the miracles performed by a non-bearded Christ while the other side showed the Passion (minus the actually moment of Crucifixion, an event which was generally avoided in Christian discussion at that time) being enacted by a bearded Christ. Many of the background tiles were made with glass and gold set at different angles so as to better catch and reflect the changing light. It was very effective and very beautiful!
We then walked to the Baptistery of the Arians which, due to the marshy land of Ravenna, had sunk far below the current level of the surrounding streets. Its dome was “mosaic-ed” with Christ’s baptism before it was considered in poor taste to represent Christ completely in the nude. This baptistery was based on the building we went to next, the Orthodox Baptistry built in the time of the Empress Galla Placidia. She came about 30 years before Theodoric and was apparently a very celebrated ruler. To get there, we had to walk through the Piazza del Popolo, turn a corner, and walk through the Piazza J.F. Kennedy! That was really unexpected. This baptistery was far more impressive with more mosaics and much, much more light! When we left, we quickly went into the museum next door to see the ivory throne of Bishop Maximien, probably made in Constantinople and sent as a gift from Emperor Justinian (the emperor under whom Hagia Sophia was constructed).
We went back to the Piazza del Popolo where we split up for lunch. Leslie, Allison, and I ended up following the art history teacher to a restaurant where we hoped to have a certain sandwich, called a piadina, unique to the Emilia-Romagna region. It is made with a special bread baked like a pita shell then stuffed with a variety of things and warmed back up. I had a tomato and mozzarella piadina and decided that it had at least tied if not replaced the Hamburg Inn’s tuna melt as the best sandwich ever. Leslie and Allison both had prosciutto and mozzarella but were not as impressed as I was with mine.
Our restaurant was only a few paces from our next stop: the church of San Vitale and the Mausoleum of Galla Placidia. The mausoleum was incredible! Unlike all of the other structures we had been to, this one was actually finished just as it had been planned with its original, floor-to-ceiling mosaic program and alabaster windows. However, it was quite dim and basically none of my pictures turned out.
We then went to San Vitale, the official church of the Byzantine emperor and his court. It’s best known for its mosaic portraits of the Emperor Justinian and the Empress Teodora. I was extremely excited to see these as I could remember studying them in my dad’s art history class. They were in a sort of apse area covered by a half dome with very high walls and an accessible second story. Unfortunately we did not get to go up there but the experience of the huge, mosaic-ed space was quite enough on its own.
As a sort of tangent, we stopped at the Tomb of Dante, who died in Ravenna while still in exile from Florence. The Florentines, who seem to forget they exiled him, have tried many times in the past to get Dante’s remains moved to Florence. They even have an empty tomb for him here. But Ravenna won’t give them up and Florence has had to be content with donating a lantern with an eternal flame. From there we ducked into a curious church, San Francesco, because, due to swampy soil, the crypt is now full of water which plays host to goldfish.
We got back on the bus and headed to the very nearby town of Classe to see its Sant’Apollinare. A last-minute wedding was taking place so we got refreshments while we waited about a half hour. This was another set of mosaics which I could remember studying in my first art history class. Its “main attraction” is the very large half dome with a picture of Christ flanked by 6 goats and 6 sheep (the sinners and the righteous, obviously). I thoroughly enjoyed getting to see it (and many Early Christian sarcophagi) with own eyes.
By the time we got back on the bus (5:30) I was exhausted and had no trouble getting to sleep!

Today:
Well, it’s just been class this week, for the most part. We have actually started doing something in lithography. I got quite a bit drawn of my stone this morning. Yesterday, in weaving, we worked on a sampler and learned how to make tapestries. We have to design a small one to do for the next class. For art history we’re going to Vinci and some of the Medici Villas this Saturday with a picnic lunch in the gardens on the itinerary.
I woke up today with a sore throat and runny nose which, as I was in lithography, progressed quickly into a fever and dizziness. Despite this, a classmate and I went to Piazza San Giovanni and signed up to give free tours of the Duomo with an organization called Ars et Fides. I have a meeting about it next Tuesday afternoon and will probably start giving the tours the week after that. In addition, my tour badge gets me into other churches like Santa Croce or San Lorenzo for free, without standing in line, and for as long as I like. It sounds like a great learning experience!
This afternoon was spent trying to sleep my sickness off. I’m hoping I’m completely better for this weekend’s trip!
I just remembered that I also went to a cooking class Tuesday night. We mainly tried some different crostini that the instructor brought and talked about what sort of things are in season now and the best places to get them. My roommate and I have been making those crostini practically every night since then. Our favorite one is sliced and toasted Tuscan bread rubbed with a little garlic, drizzled with olive oil, and topped with a salt that has rosemary and sage mixed into it. Very simple and very good! We also tried some fig preserves which were excellent with the cheese, called pecorino, which she brought. The preserves were just cut up figs covered in sugar and allowed to sit over night then boiled down until they achieved a brown color. If I am feeling up to it, I’m going to the Mercato Centrale tomorrow with Allison and Leslie to find some of the pecorino and then to find some new jeans as none of mine seem to fit anymore. That is, I don't have a dryer so I can't count on them shrinking every time I wash them. I'm definitely going to enjoy having tumble dried clothing come late December.