Church of Saint John the Evangelist
Built in the 5th century A.D. at the behest of Empress Galla Placidia, the Basilica of St John the Evangelist in Ravenna is located a short walk from the railway station.
Today, the building is located outside the city centre, and even at the time of its construction it was off-centre. The basilica was very close to the sea, which then reached as far as the present railway line.
As for the Mausoleum of Galla Placidia and many other Ravenna buildings, the Church of St John the Evangelist has also suffered the effects of subsidence, the process of slow sinking into the sandy soil that has always affected the city, which was originally much higher than today.
What to see in the Basilica of St John the Evangelist
Today's appearance of the basilica does not coincide with the original design. Over the centuries, it has often been altered and damaged, both in the external structure and in the interior. The most recent works occurred in 1944 due to
World War II air raids, which destroyed both the mosaics of the apse and the 12th, 13th and 14th century frescoes that decorated the structure. The 10th-century bell tower, however, survived the destruction.
Once preceded by a large four-sided portico, which has since disappeared, the entrance to the Basilica of St John the Evangelist now opens onto a
well-kept inner garden overlooking the 14th-century portal. The interior of the church is divided into three naves, in which we can admire some panels bearing the remains of the 13th-century floor mosaic.
Among the subjects that were depicted in the mosaics are some
imaginary animals, court stories and the depiction of the crusades that were taking place at the time.
Galla Placidia
A leading figure of her time,
Galla Placidia was born in Constantinople in 386 AD and died in 450. Half-sister of the Emperors Arcadius and Honorius, niece of Valentinian I as well as Gratian and Valentinian II (her uncles), Galla Placidia had
two husbands, Ataulfo, King of the Visigoths, and Constantius III, Western Roman Emperor. Her son Valentinian III also became emperor, but given his young age it was in fact Galla herself who ruled the empire in his stead.
In addition to ordering the construction of her namesake's mausoleum, Galla had the church of St John the Evangelist built as a votive offering for surviving
a terrible shipwreck. Having travelled to Constantinople because of the death of her brother Honorius, on the return journey to Ravenna the empress's ship was swept away by a storm, from which, however, she emerged unscathed. Once she returned, she kept her vow and so the construction of the church started.
