May 29 2008
Ravenna at Last!
I nearly minored in Art History in college (I found out too late that I needed 10 classes for a minor; I had taken 9. Oops). Anyway, my favorite classes were medieval and Byzantine art and architecture.
There’s a town in Emilia-Romagna near the Adriatic named Ravenna that was the seat of the Western Roman empire for a short time after Rome fell (5th century), and then was the home of Byzantine emperors from the 6th – 8th centuries. There are incredibly preserved Byzantine mosaics in Ravenna that I learned about in school, and I’ve wanted to come see them for myself for many years (we visited the big four sights – San Vitale, the Mausoleum of Galla Placidia, Sant’ Apollinare Nuovo and Sant’ Apollinare in Classe). I’m not sure Dave got a lot out of the visit, but he humored me, and probably got a kick out of me crutching myself around town just to look at some 1400-year-old mosaics. He took some great pictures for me:
Detail of the ceiling of San Vitale.
The varied ceilings of the Mausoleum of Galla Placidia.
Detail showing the Three Magi from Sant’ Apollinare Nuovo.
Detail from the ceiling of Sant’ Apollinare in Classe.
– Meredith
One response so far
Dave’s pictures are spectacular. I will look forward to learning of some of the techniques and equipment used. Great to see that Dave was able to see Cinque Terre via the walkway. Meredith you look great on the crutches but do plan to become bipedal as you can. Perhaps a walker like B. Grandma, or a Hover-round. B. G Ma is back to Wii bowling after having left it for a while because of her competition gene. She asks often of you and Dave. Met Gina and she reminds me of Peggy (Hanks wife). Lovely woman.
Love
Dad