2023 Friday Oct. 6

Ravenna, Cesena, Good Friends

First a fast train to Faenza and then a Regional to Ravenna where friends Valeria and Carlo met us to collect our extra luggage to store while we walk. After caffe, we toured a couple of churches before friends Daniele and Georgia arrived to transport us to Cesena to stay the weekend.

 

Valeria and Carlo were waiting for us. No problems!

The Chiesa of San Giovanni Evangelista was the first church we visited after leaving the train station. Because of its proximity to the railroad, it was heavily bombed in WWII and is now mostly rebuilt very simply.
The Basilica of Sant’Apollinare Nuovo was commissioned by Theodoric in the late 5th— early 6th centuries as an Arian church dedicated to Christ. It was deconsecrated by Archbishop Agnellus after Justinian’s edict in 561 banning heretical cults. It got the current name in the first half of the 9th century when the Saint’s relics were transferred from Classe after frequent pirate raids. The name Nuovo (new) differentiated it from Classe.
The left side includes 13 miracles or parables.
The right side includes events following Jesus’s death. The uppermost band shows scenes of Christ’s life with regal crowns of prophets underneath. The Savior always wears gold or purple and is beardless (Eastern identity).
Theodoric’s court was removed and replaced by curtains. Not all evidence was removed—there are hands on the right side.
Goodbye to Valeria and Carlo until we see you again in early November.
Daniele and his daughter, Georgia, picked us up in Ravenna for the drive to their home in Cesena. Barbara’s mother, Maria, had prepared a feast for the family’s lunch. Barbara and Georgia’s sister, Elisa, were waiting to join us for the meal.
In late afternoon we toured the Malatestiana Library, an archive area in the Cesena Public Library. In the 15th century, the last lord of Cesena took on a project of the friars of Saint Francis to construct a new library. He wanted the library to be available to the common man, the first public library. Light and color were important: rows of windows on each side ensured natural light on the reading desks, and the colors of the Malatesta coat of arms (red, green, white) were central in the room’s floor tiles, green walls and ceiling, and white stone. 58 reading desks provide space to copy manuscripts. Iron chains ensured that nothing was lost nor placed out of order. Baby goats were skinned for parchment, and over 120 manuscripts were scripted in 20 years. Because the library has been meticulously preserved, in 2005 it was recognized by UNESCO.
A painting of the young pope Pius VI, a Cesena native. Two Cesena natives were elected pope, as well as a third who was adopted by Cesena.
A second painting of Pope Pius VI, older and tired after being exiled and imprisoned in France.
This tiny book is the smallest book able to be read without magnification. It measures 15x9mm.
Dinner: the end of a wonderful day with friends.

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