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| Ravenna Cathedral |
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| Winged Lions - detail of Basilika wall |
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| Tomb of an Empress - filled with mosaics inside |
As many times before, I let Ravenna’s mosaics speak for
themselves.
Ravenna was the Roman Empire for quite a while, and its
close ties with Byzantium are evident in these magnificent pieces of art. As
fresh as if they were created yesterday, the mosaics tell biblical stories of
Old and New Testament, depict emperors
and their courts in splendid regalia, give witness to historic architecture,
present a wide ranging collection of fauna and flora of the times, show
abstract decorations and representations of heaven and earth.
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| All the above mosaics are details of the Empresse's Tomb |
Easter Sunday in Ravenna, the churches are closed to
visitors in the morning due to Easter Masses being celebrated by the Catholic
Faithful. After mass, visitors could
enter and not only admire the stunning mosaics, but a profusion of flower
arrangements, which adorned the interior for the festive day. Due to the limited
access, many regular tourists must have stayed away, as the mosaic sites were
empty, without time consuming line ups as well as no time limitations once inside
some of the smaller venues.
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| Byzantine Empress Theodora, Prostitute, Actress, Ruler, Reformer, Fashion Model, Renown Beauty |
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| Justinian, Byzantine Emperor, Husband to Theodora |
This was my second visit to Ravenna. Should I ever return I
know where I will be heading….back to the mosaics, where I will find a place to
sit and wonder in awe to embark onto a journey into the past.
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| Ancient Flip Flops |
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| The Three Magi |
