RAVEN'NA, an important city of central Italy, 43 m. e.s.e. from Bologna, and 44 m. from the Adriatic; lat. 44° 24' n., long. 12° 12' east, Pop. '72, of the commune, 58,t:04; of the town proper, 21,000. It is situated in the midst of a well-watered, fertile, and Snely-wooded plain. Ravenna is surrounded by old bastions, and by walls where may still be seen the iron rings to which the cables of ships were formerly fastened; the sea is now at the distance of about 4m. from the city. The streets are wide; the squares are adorned with statues of the popes, and the houses have a gloomy appearance. Ravenna is an ancient city, rich in monuments of art. The cathedral, built in the 4th c., w as almost wholly rebuilt in 1734; it has 5 naves, supported by 24 marble pillars. Of the other 14 churches and other architectural antiquities several date from the 5th and 6th centuries. San Francesco possesses the tomb of Dante, erected in the 15th century. The library of Ravenna contains 50,000 volumes. It has an arebtrological museum, and many educational institutions. Ravenna has manufactures of silk, and its trade is facil
itated by a canal to the sea.
Ravenna was probably of Umbrian origin; it was at least an Umbrian city when it passed into the hands of the Romans. Augustus made it a first-class seaport and naval station; 400 years later, the emperor Honorins took refuge there, and made Ravenna the capital of the empire. The city was taken by Odoacer, then by Theodoric and by Tot ila; the latter was conquered by Narses, who made it the residence of the exarchs in 553. In 1218 it became a republic. In 1275, Guido da Polenta conquered it, and there estab lished his court, where he received Dante. Ravenna. was afterward taken by the Vene tians, who kept it till 1509. Under Charles V. it passed into the hands of the popes.
Under the walls of Ravenna, a great battle was fought in 1512 between the French And the Spaniards, iu which Gaston de Foix purchased victory with his life.