Ravenna was the capital, between the 5th and 7th centuries, of Italy, first Roman, then Ostrogothic and finally Byzantine.
The foundation of Ravenna
The foundation of Ravenna dates back to the 5th century B.C., when the Umbrian populations, driven by the Gauls (the Celtic tribes that had founded Milan and were spreading in central Italy) took refuge on a series of small islands that emerged from the swamps. Hidden in the middle of marshy plains, surrounded by the branches of the Po and connected to the mainland by a raised road, Ravenna was practically impregnable.
Ravenna, capital of the Western Roman Empire
In '89 Ravenna became a federated city of Rome. In 27 B.C., at the behest of the Emperor Augustus, work began on the construction of the city and the port of Classe, which was to house half of the Roman fleet (in Latin classis), the one intended for shipments to the East (Capo Miseno, near Naples, housed the other half, the one intended for shipments to the West).
In the third century AD, because of the crisis of the Empire, Ravenna declined to a simple provincial city, then rose to the dignity of capital of the Roman Empire of the West in 402, when the emperor Honorius left Milan and moved there considering it safer. Its swamps made it impregnable; the Po ensured communications; the port of Classe, a few kilometers from the center, ensured that in the event of an emergency it could board a ship and flee to the East. The city thus became the center of political power until the fall of the Roman Empire (476).
Several religious buildings date back to this period (5th century BC), such as the Church of San Giovanni Evangelist and the Mausoleum of Galla Placidia, both commissioned by Galla Placidia, sister of Emperor Honorius and mother of Emperor Valentinian III, who ruled the empire until 437 because of her son's age. Then there is the Neonian Baptistery, also known as the Orthodox Baptistery.
Ravenna capital of the Ostrogothic Kingdom
In 476 the barbarian general Odoacre deposed Romulus Augustulus and sent the imperial insignia to Constantinople. At that time, according to tradition, the Western Roman Empire came to an end (for more information read the Fall of the Roman Empire: events and causes).
In 493 Odoacre died assassinated by the will of Theodoric, king of the Ostrogoths. From 493 to 526 Ravenna was therefore the capital of the kingdom of the Ostrogoth Theodoric, a follower of Aryan heresy and an admirer of classical culture, whom he knew at the court of Constantinople, where he had been held as a hostage in his youth.
Theodoric began a vast building plan. He had the imperial palace, the Basilica of Sant'Apollinare Nuovo, the Church of the Holy Spirit, the Baptistery of the Aryans built. He also had the Mausoleum built to house his remains.
Ravenna, the Byzantine capital
A few years after the death of Theodoric (526), the Emperor of the East Justinian (527-565) waged a war (the Greek-Gothic War), regained Ravenna and made it the capital of the Exarchate, that is, of the Byzantine possessions in Italy administered by the governor called exarch.
Justinian, in order to exalt his conquests, filled the city with fabulous monuments, creating the basilicas of San Vitale and Sant'Apollinare in Classe. Sculptures, ivories, reliquaries, columns and capitals were commissioned from the highly refined workshops of Constantinople. Among the highest achievements of Justinian's artists are Justinian and his court and Theodora and her retinue, two absolute masterpieces of the art of mosaic. Made in the sixth century and placed opposite each other in the church of San Vitale in Ravenna.
Fall of the Exarchate of Ravenna
In the seventh century the power of the Byzantines began to decline and when the Lombards began to occupy Italy, the exarchs could no longer defend it. In 754, then, the Lombards managed to conquer Ravenna.
The Pope then turned to the Franks. In 756, the Franks' king Pipino il Breve, Charlemagne's father, forced the Lombards to donate Ravenna and all the former Byzantine territories to Pope Adrian I. They obeyed, but then occupied them again, threatening to take possession of Rome as well.
Shortly afterwards Pepin died and it was Charlemagne who ran to the Pope's rescue. After the fall of the Lombard Kingdom, the territories returned to the Pope and after that, for 1100 years, Ravenna was almost uninterruptedly part of the State of the Church.
The imperial palace of Theodoric Excavations carried out in Ravenna at the beginning of the 20th century have revealed that behind S. Apollinare Nuovo there was a monumental residential complex, richly decorated with mosaics, laid out both on the floors and on the walls, which allow to date the construction to the age of Theodoric. An oration by Cassiodorus, an official of Theodoric, magnifies the profusion of marbles, gems, mosaics and paintings.