RAVENNA, situated in 44' 26' N. lat., 12' 12' E. long., is an ancient city of Italy, once a sea-port, but now 9 miles from the sea, which has receded all along this coast, owing to the accumulation of Rand thrown up by the waves, and of the alluvial earth brought down by the rivers. Between Ravenna and the sea is the Pineta, or Forest of Pines, which extends about 15 miles in length along the eca-coast, and which has been noticed by Dante. Boccaccio, Dryden, and Byron. Ravenna is an archbishop's see, and the residence of the legate of the province. It has a college, and civil, criminal, and commercial courts. The population is about 18,000. The cathedral, built in the 4th century, but since that time almost completely rebuilt, retains several sculptures and other remains of its early age: the baptistery, detached from the church, is still in Its original state. The church of Santa Vitale was built by an exarch in the time of Justinian, in imitation of the Holy Sepulchre at Jerusalem. It has same handsome pillars of granite, and a large mosaic, in good preservation, representing the emperor Justinian with his courtiers, and his empress Theodora attended by her ladies. The church of St John the Baptist was built by Placidia, daughter of Theodosius, as well as that of St. John the Evangelist, with ita altar, which is faced with porphyry and other valuable marbles. The mausoleum of Theodoric, which is outside of the town, has a monolithic dome, nearly 100 feet in circumference, which has been transformed into a church, called Santa Maria Rotondo. There are some remain of the splendid palace of Theodoric, which was inhabited by his enceessors the Exarehs. A fragment of a wall, with two or three pillars, and a eemieriroular recess above, are all that remain of the palace. A porphyry bath, which was found near the mausoleum, has been let into the wall of the palace. The church of St. Apollinaris in Chasse, so called because It was built on the site of the old port, is a magnificent structure, raised also by Theodoric, with 24 large columns, each of a single piece of marble, which were brought from Constantinople; and a fine mosaic, representing a view of Ravenna In the 6th century, with numerous figures of saints. The
great altar is made of porphyry, verde entice, and oriental alabaster; and the pulpit, which ia of marble, Is of curious workmanship. Ravenna, next to Rome, is the city of Italy which abounds most with valuable and rare ancient marbles. The church of St. Apollinaris contains the tombs of many of the old archbishops of Ravenna, and a series of their portraits.
The public library of Ravenna contains 40,000 volumes and 700 manuscripts. There is also a cabinet of ancient medals and inscrip tions, and a gallery of paintings. The mausoleum of Dante, who died at Ravenna, was raised In the 15th century, by Bernardo Bombe, a Venetian podeata, and father of Cardinal Bembo: it has been repaired several times.
The ancient town of Classis, the port of Ravenna, which stood 2 or 3 miles S. from the city, was destroyed in the year 723 by Imitprand, king of the Longobarda. It is now • marsh, 6 miles distant from the sea.
Ravenna is said to have been originally • town of the Umbri. It is not particularly noticed in Roman history till the time of the empire, when the port of Ravenna became one of the two great stations for the Roman fleet, 31irennm being the other. After the fall of the empire Tbeodorio made Ravenna the capital of his kingdom, and he greatly embellished the town. When Name, the general of Justinian, having overthrown the kingdom of the Goths, A.D. 50, was appointed by the emperor exarch or governor-general of Italy, he fixed his residence at Ravenna, which continued under his successors to be the centre of the imperial administration in Italy, till Astolphus, king of the Larigebardn, took Ravenna in 752. In 755 Pepin, having defeated Astolphus, obliged him to give up Ravenna and the district called the Peetapoli, to the see of Rome.