Ravenna by Corrado Ricci

Ravenna by Corrado Ricci was published in 1913 – exactly one hundred years ago – and reprinted in the beginning of the 21st century.

Corrado Ricci (1858-1934) was an Italian archaeologist and a historian of Italian art. In 1897 he was appointed director of a new institution which was responsible for the monuments of Ravenna (where he was born). In 1906 he was appointed national Director General of Arts and Antiquities in

Italy

Ricci is the author of several books, most of which are published in Italian. This book about the monuments Ravenna was published by the Italian Institute for Graphic Arts in Bergamo and translated into English by the institute. The translation is fine, but the name of the translator is not mentioned anywhere.

The original version of the book is divided into two parts.

Part one runs from page 9 to page 52; that is 43 pages. Here the monuments are presented with text and 32 illustrations. Since there are 32 illustrations, the actual text is only ca. 27 pages.

Part two runs from page 52 until the end of the book (page 141). Here the monuments are presented with illustrations (photos or drawings). All illustrations are in black-and-white. Part two is divided into five sections:

# 1 = 83 illustrations - Roman-Byzantine Ravenna

# 2 = 10 illustrations - Medieval Ravenna

# 3 = 15 illustrations – Ravenna of the Renaissance

# 4 = 10 illustrations – Ravenna: Barocco and Modern

# 5 = 6 illustrations – Neighbourhood of Ravenna

The total number of illustrations is 156. The total number of monuments and locations presented is 33. There is an index of all monuments and locations on pp. 5-7.

The seal of Ravenna appears on the title page (see above). The seal shows the ancient city gate, Porta Aurea (the golden gate). The four openings - two large and two small - are flanked by two towers.

From the information mentioned above you can understand that the presentation of each monument or location is rather brief, but this does not mean that it is superficial. The basic facts are given in the text, and the illustrations are helpful. But not everything is perfect here:

(1) The photos (many of which are taken by the author) are quite good, but it is a shame they are in black-and-white. Back in 1913 it was impossible to take photos with colour. It is easy to understand why they are black-and-white, but when we look at the pictures today, we have to say: black-and-white photos are not optimal when we are talking about the polychrome mosaics in the churches of Ravenna.

(2) Since the text is in the front, while most of the illustrations are in the back, you will have to flip from the front to the back of the book many times in order to compare a passage in the text with a photo. Back in 1913 this old style of layout was considered acceptable. It is easy to understand why, but when we look at the book today, we have to say: a picture should be placed next to the text to which it belongs in order to avoid the constant turning of the pages.

These flaws are unfortunate, but since they are a consequence of the original publication date (1913), I am not going to use them to condemn the book as useless.

Among the many monuments presented in the book I will mention only five, two mausoleums and three churches:

** The Mausoleum of Galla Placidia

** The Mausoleum of Theodoricus

** Basilica di S. Apollinare in Classe

** Basilica di S. Apollinare Nuovo
** Basilica di S. Vitale

The church of S. Vitale is famous because of two mosaics in the apse. The first one shows the Byzantine Emperor Justinian and his court (illustration # 99), while the second one shows his Empress Theodora and her court (illustration # 100).

This book is written by an author who knows his topic very well. When he wrote this book, he was the top official in the field, in charge of all antiquities in all of

Italy

. Obviously, his style of writing is not modern. Sometimes the text is a bit old-fashioned, but this is only a minor detail, and therefore I do not want to make an issue out of it.

Corrado Ricci’s book about Ravenna is not perfect, but it is still quite interesting, even though it was first published one hundred years ago.

PS # 1. In 1913 the British travel writer Edward Hutton published a book about the same topic: Ravenna: A Study. Hutton’s account, which was reprinted in the beginning of the 21st century, is much longer than Ricci’s, but not necessarily better, because it is marred by his deep fascination with the Catholic Church and his contempt for the Arian faith.

PS # 2. For a recent biography of Galla Placidia, who had a very turbulent life, please turn to Galla Placidia: The Last Roman Empress by Hagith Sivan (2011).

PS # 3. If you want more information about Ravenna, see Ravenna in Late Antiquity by Deborah Mauskopf Deliyannis (hardcover 2010, paperback 2014) and Eternal Ravenna by Massimiliano David (2013).

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Corrado Ricci,

Ravenna,

Italian Institute for Graphic Art, Bergamo, 1913, 141 pages

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