New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1879-08-09
A TOURIST AT RAVENNA.
IT'S MONUMENTS OF ART AND HISTORY.


Bologna says: "You can go to Rayenna at 0 III tne
roorniug and return at in the evening" Eyl-
IDENTIFY the director thinks one day quite enough TOT
Rayenna in which he differs radically from MI
Hare who asserts that one day at Kayenna Is
Misery And, by the way, no one should traVei
in Lombardy without Mr. Hare's three volumes
Cities of Northern and Central Italy," "hat ne
has done for Rome and London, he has zone aiso lo
Milan, Venice, Siena, and the quiet dying toHhS VI
the Lombard plain, like Padua and ferrara' NO
book with which / am acquainted lets the tra'elieI
so thoroughly INTO the heart of LomDardy as THESE
charming volumes.
I accent the good directors suggestion 80 far rs
leaving Bologna at o'clock IN The morning Is con-
cerned 1t is well to escape the Jury OF the June
SUM- which, even at 0 o'clock a. m Is not thing 10
he trihed with in these regions. Inc raiTosd loi
lows the line of the old 4Emilian Road as far as
Castel Bolognese one hour from Bologna ana tnen
strikes off northeastery through Hat and we'll
cultivated plain to Ravcnna, two hours turther'
There is kind of satire in the two or three mastS
of the little freight boats which meet the eye on
arriving t the station-a sad reminder OF the DAYS
when the Adriatic flowed under the very walls oil
the CITY which now are about six miles from the
sea and connected with it by canal-oi the DAYS
when the Pc met the main In the heart Oh tne grea'
seaport town and the hundreds OF canals maze IL
another Venice where the full tides bore the ships
into its very bosom.
Remnants of the old walls show themselves close
by the railway stations-huge 'crumblIng masses Oh
brickwork, relieved at intervals by drum towers;
and the general aspect of the town Is miserable
but the Spada d'Oro is "A comfortable enough little
inn with cool dining-room and a most accommo-
dating head walters and while waiting here Tor the
cab which is to facilitate explorations, one has
i hat ol IaTn
lines three-hou:S railway ride has set him down.
How the tides of secular and ecclesiastical history
meet here and from how many directions the cur
rents RIM Il; A notable seaport when the sun of Ro-
man Imperialism was Just above the horizon, and
orr Lord was an infant in Nazareth the home of
Rome's imbecile second childhood, when, five GEN.
tures later the Empire, born In the Iyrrhenian
marshes went down to the AdrIatic lagoons to die;
drawn into the tide of Lombard history when AL
bon had come over the Semmering to find Northern
Italy desoate and waiting at once for an occupant
and for a ruler We are in the track of Justnan,
the LEGISLATOR of an empire and the fool of cOurte-
san WIFE Theodori--"a bigot without faith, aud
hereto without religious conviction >" OF the ND
cons old monkey Narses of Belisarus, OF poor weak
Honorius glad TO exchange the cares OF empire
for his poutry-yard; of Stilcho, OF Theodore,
Boetblus. Symmachus. of the Aryan heresy of the
YOU drive from the station. That old. crumbllng
church in the open square looks down upon the
railway bindings and the brand new" statue of
somebody flor nobody is worth naming here who
has not at least ten centuries behind HIM ont of the
wear 425. when Gala Placda, the mother OF the
Emperor Vaeutman Ill, built it; when the powers
of steam had not been dreamed Of and the appear
ance of locomotive would have sent the innabt-
ants pel-me to the temples and affairs to deprecate
the wrath Of Heaven.
We are going pretty soon TO see the tomb Of Apoll
nars, the patron saint of Ravenna 1t is 1879 now;
the Raveunese first heard the Gospel from his lips III
the year 70. We shall go to see TheOdOric's palace
that long-headed old Ostrogoth planting his
orchards here between 476 and 527 and so forth,
NAV as well say at once. for such "reminiscences
are well-nigh exhaiistless.
/ gave the first morning mostly to the churches,
which are by far the most interesting relics of the
place and bv far the more numerous; for ecclesi-
astca history has left more aud sharper cut traces
than secular history Here it is plainly impossible
10 enter into detail. Externally, as might be ex-
pected they all have "A diIapdated appearance. The
Companies differ from those of other Italian cities
I'm beng generally round instead of square. The in
teuors are in remarkable state of preservation,
especially the mosaics. which are at once Ravennas
richest treasure, and among the most remarkable
illustration those which are perhaps, the most in
teresting of all-the mosaics of the Church of st.
Apollmare Nuovo, originally an Aryan Cathedral
built by Theodore IN 800 and in which the remains
of the Bishop Apollinaris finally reDose after two
removals. These mosaIcs belong somewhere between
553 and 5G6. They line the upper walls of the CEN
tra aisle along its entire length on both sides. On
the right IS procession Of martyrs and cOnfes5Ors
going forth from tie City Of Ravenna, which il rep
resented by the imperial palace with its colonnades
and rich draperies. On the left procession of vir
glns going forth from the suburbs of the city, the
naval station-classis-whic is indicated by
a ship at anchor behind a palace. The figures
are absolutely unmutIlated Every minute stone
appears to be as perfect when 1t set.
The colors are still bright, the faces mostly alike,
but not unpeasing. With quaint sweet serious
ness they march on amid groves of palm, bearing
crowns in their hands; the cOnfessoTs moving
toward the enthrOned Christ, who sits Just above
the steps of the high altar, surrounded By the four
aTchangels the virgins opposite proceeding toward
the seat OF the Virgin Mother. close to which the
Magi with rich tlaras and dOubets and tlger-skin
hose are eagerly pressing forward with their gifts.
In the treatment of this latter subject indeed, the
idea of eagerness seems to be the prominent one.
Close BY the tomb of Gala PlacldIa is "A curious
sarcOphagus known the tomb OF the EXarch
lsaac on which the Mag are scnDtured, all three
at a full run their laden hands Outstretched and
their garments hyIng backward III tue wind But
to return to the church; these wonderful mosaic
piciures impress their sweet restfuness the be-
| holder more and more at each visit. One retires
evermore reluctantly from the walls 10 which those
| kindly solemn eyes enchaln him with their steady
| gaze-eyes of those blessed ones who long ago
reached the rest toward which, IN picture they are
| ever moving amid the palm branches eyes which
| have looked ont, through thirteen long centuries
On the strange and varied outwOrkngs of The faith
i'm which their tired lids were clOsei and wuIch bid
fair TO gaze on till some later Luitprand shall level
Kavenna with the dust or tine old temple shall
| crnmbje unuer the burden OF it, own years.
Nv general impression of most of these works
| is that they are much more free and spirited
| in their design and execution than the
| ~ H.