The origin of the name
Ravenna is unclear. Some have speculated that "Ravenna" is related to "Rasenna" (or "Rasna"), the term that the
Etruscans used for themselves, but there is no agreement on this point.
Ancient era The origins of Ravenna are uncertain. The oldest archaeological evidence found dates the
Umbri presence in Ravenna at least to the 5th century BC, where it was undisturbed until the 3rd century BC, when first contact with Roman civilization began. Its territory was settled also by the
Senones, especially the southern countryside of the city (that was not part of the lagoon), the
Ager Decimanus. Ravenna consisted of houses built on piles on a series of small islands in a marshy lagoon – a situation similar to
Venice several centuries later. The Romans ignored it during their conquest of the
Po River Delta, but later accepted it into the
Roman Republic as a federated town in 89
BC. This harbor, protected at first by its own walls, was an important station of the
Roman Imperial Fleet. Nowadays, the city is landlocked, but Ravenna remained an important
seaport on the
Adriatic until the early
Middle Ages. During the Germanic campaigns,
Thusnelda, widow of
Arminius, and
Marbod, King of the
Marcomanni, were confined at Ravenna. In 402,
Emperor Honorius took up residence of the city and it became the
de facto capital of the
Western Roman Empire; it served as the capital for most of the 5th century and the last de facto western emperor
Romulus Augustulus was deposed there in AD 476. At that time, it was home to 50,000 people. The transfer was made partly for defensive purposes: Ravenna was surrounded by swamps and marshes, and was perceived to be easily defensible (although in fact the city fell to opposing forces numerous times in its history); it is also likely that the move to Ravenna was due to the city's port and good sea-borne connections to the
Eastern Roman Empire. In 409, King
Alaric I of the
Visigoths simply bypassed Ravenna, and went on to
sack Rome in 410 and to take
Galla Placidia, daughter of Emperor
Theodosius I, hostage. After many vicissitudes, Galla Placidia returned to Ravenna with her son, Emperor
Valentinian III, due to the support of her nephew
Theodosius II. Ravenna enjoyed a period of peace, during which time the imperial court favoured the Christian religion. The city gained some of its most famous monuments, including the Orthodox Baptistry, the misnamed
Mausoleum of Galla Placidia (she was not actually buried there), and
San Giovanni Evangelista.
Ostrogothic Kingdom The late 5th century saw the dissolution of Roman authority in the west, and
Romulus Augustulus was deposed in 476 by the general
Odoacer. Odoacer ruled as King of Italy for 13 years, but in 489 the Eastern Emperor
Zeno sent the
Ostrogoth King
Theodoric the Great to re-take the Italian peninsula. After losing the
Battle of Verona,
Odoacer retreated to Ravenna, where he withstood a siege of three years by Theodoric, until the taking of
Rimini deprived Ravenna of supplies. Theodoric took Ravenna in 493, supposedly slew Odoacer with his own hands, and Ravenna became the capital of the
Ostrogothic Kingdom of Italy. Theodoric, following his imperial predecessors, also built many splendid buildings in and around Ravenna, including his palace church
Sant'Apollinare Nuovo, an Arian cathedral (now Santo Spirito) and Baptistery, and his own
Mausoleum just outside the walls. Both Odoacer and Theodoric and their followers were
Arian Christians, but co-existed peacefully with the
Latins, who were largely
Nicene. Ravenna's Nicene bishops carried out notable building projects, of which the sole surviving one is the
Cappella Arcivescovile. Theodoric allowed Roman citizens within his kingdom to be subject to Roman law and the Roman judicial system. The Goths, meanwhile, lived under their own laws and customs. In 519, when a mob had burned down the synagogues of Ravenna, Theodoric ordered the town to rebuild them at its own expense. Theodoric died in 526 and was succeeded by his young grandson
Athalaric under the authority of his daughter
Amalasuintha, but by 535 both were dead and Theodoric's line was represented only by Amalasuntha's daughter
Mataswintha. Various Ostrogothic military leaders took the Kingdom of Italy, but none were as successful as Theodoric had been. Meanwhile, the
Chalcedonian Byzantine Emperor
Justinian I opposed both Ostrogoth rule and the
Gothic variety of Christianity. In 535 his general
Belisarius invaded Italy and in 540 conquered Ravenna. After the conquest of Italy was completed in 554, Ravenna became the seat of Byzantine government in Italy. From 540 to 600, Ravenna's bishops embarked upon a notable building program of churches in Ravenna and in and around the port city of Classe. Surviving monuments include the
Basilica of San Vitale and the
Basilica of Sant'Apollinare in Classe, as well as the partially surviving San Michele in Africisco.
Exarchate of Ravenna . Allegorical image with and lambs represent apostles, 533–549,
apse of
Basilica of Sant'Apollinare in Classe. Following the conquests of
Belisarius for Eastern Roman Emperor
Justinian I in the 6th century, Ravenna became the seat of the
Byzantine governor of Italy, the
Exarch, and was known as the
Exarchate of Ravenna. It was at this time that the
Ravenna Cosmography was written. Under Byzantine rule, the archbishop of the
Archdiocese of Ravenna was temporarily granted
autocephaly from the Roman Church by the emperor, in 666, but this was soon revoked. Nevertheless, the archbishop of Ravenna held the second place in Italy after the pope, and played an important role in many theological controversies during this period.
Middle Ages and Renaissance The
Lombards, under
King Liutprand, occupied Ravenna in 712, but were forced to return it to the Byzantines. Shortly after
Aistulf, the Lombard
Duke of Friuli, was crowned
King of the Lombards in 749, he pursued an aggressive policy of expansion into the Byzantine’s Exarchate of Ravenna and the territory claimed by the Pope through the
Patrimony of Saint Peter. In 751, the Byzantines surrendered the Exarchate of Ravenna to Aistulf. Aistulf then proceeded farther south and threatened Rome claiming jurisdiction and demanding tribute and acknowledgement of his sovereignty.
Pope Stephen II appealed to Aistulf but to no avail. In 753, Pope Stephen traveled to France to seek the help of
Pepin, King of the Franks. Pepin responded favorably and ultimately conducted two campaigns to the Italian Peninsula to confront Aistulf with respect to territory that had been taken illegally. Finally in 756, Aistulf conceded defeat, and agreed to pay reparations and surrender the territory taken five years earlier. At that time, Pepin fulfilled a promise that he had made two years prior in France and granted the pope the right to large territories that included the former Exarchate of Ravenna and the Roman duchy. This act has become known as the
Donation of Pepin and provided the legal basis for the creation of the
Papal States. After Pepin’s Donation and the establishment of the Papal States, Byzantine-era administrative structures collapsed during the 9th and 10th centuries. Papal control was indirect, with local dukes and Lombard lords exercising de facto power. During the 11th and 12th centuries, Ravenna became a contested city between the
Holy Roman Empire and the Papacy, with imperial appointees often clashing with papal legates. The beginning of the 13th Century was a period of great turmoil for the city of Ravenna. At that time, conflict between the
Guelphs and Ghibellines was intensifying. In 1198, Ravenna led a league of
Romagna cities and Marches against the Holy Roman Emperor,
Otto IV. Pope
Innocent III was able to capitalize on the anti-imperial sentiment in Romagna, to strengthen papal influence over Ravenna and other cities in the region. In 1218, Pietro
Traversari came to power in Ravenna after defeating the Ubertini and Mainardi factions during the Guelph-Ghibelline conflict. The Traversari family ruled Ravenna for 22 years until 1240 when Holy Roman Emperor
Frederick II besieged Ravenna and expelled the Traversari after the Traversari aligned themselves with the pro-papal Guelphs. Frederick’s
Imperial Vicar ruled Ravenna for eight years until 1248 when Pope
Innocent IV took Ravenna, and the Traversari returned to power. In 1275, the Traversari were driven from the city by Guido Novello da Polenta. The
Da Polenta family established a hereditary lordship and governed with increasing independence as a papal vassal. One of the most illustrious residents of Ravenna at this time was the exiled Florentine poet
Dante. The last of the Da Polenta,
Ostasio III, was ousted by the
Republic of Venice in February 1441, and the city was annexed to the Venetian territories by the
Treaty of Cremona. Ravenna was then ruled by Venice until 1509, when the region was invaded in the course of the
War of the League of Cambrai. At the
Battle of Agnadello on 14 May, the French largely destroyed the Venetian army. Thereafter, the members of the
League of Cambrai occupied
Venice's mainland territories. After the Venetian withdrawal, Ravenna was again ruled by legates of the Pope as part of the Papal States. The Papal States retained control of Ravenna as the war continued, however in 1511, Pope
Julius II created a new alliance with Spain and the Holy Roman Empire against France. In the conflict that ensued, France besieged Ravenna and then decisively defeated the League's relief forces at the
Battle of Ravenna (1512). After that victory, the French sacked Ravenna and occupied the city for four months before withdrawing. In 1527, notwithstanding their alliance with Pope
Clement VII, the Venetians occupied Ravenna and the
Romagna, which, however, they were compelled to restore in 1529. The city was damaged in a tremendous flood in May 1636. Over the next 300 years, a network of
canals diverted nearby rivers and drained nearby swamps, thus reducing the possibility of flooding and creating a large belt of agricultural land around the city. from Ravenna depicting
Saint Apollinaris Modern age In the 17th and 18th centuries, Ravenna was part of the Papal States up until 1796, when it was annexed into the French puppet state of the
Cisalpine Republic /
Italian Republic, and then made part of the
Napoleonic Kingdom of Italy in 1802. It was returned to the Papal States in 1814. Occupied by Piedmontese troops in 1859, Ravenna and the surrounding
Romagna area became part of the new unified
Kingdom of Italy in 1861. During
WWII, the town suffered severe damage. 52 Allied bombing raids had taken their toll, destroying some of Ravenna's noteworthy, unequalled early Christian art. Bombs intended for the railway station and its sidings had pulverised the
Basilica of San Giovanni Evangelista in August 1944. On 5 November 1944 troops of 4th Princess Louise Dragoon Guards, 5th Canadian Armoured Division and the British
27th Lancers entered and liberated Ravenna. A total of 937 Commonwealth soldiers who died in the winter of 1944–45 are buried in Ravenna War Cemetery, including 438 Canadians. ==Government==