Moving inland from the beautiful beaches of the Riviera there is a rich variety of cultural and artistic destinations to visit. The historical cities that are situated within a few kilometres of the coastline are home to beautiful churches decorated with frescos and mosaics dating to the Byzantine and Roman eras.
There are picturesque medieval villages and enchanting castles, roman sites, palaces and villas. The Riviera is the ideal departure point for itineraries and excursions that meander through the extraordinary historical treasures of this territory. The ultimate destinations for Art and architecture are of course Ravenna, Florence and Venice but there are also smaller cities such as Ferrara, Bologna, Rimini, San Marino and Urbino that are well worth a visit. Magnificent examples of medieval and Renaissance architecture can also be found in towns such as Gradara, Verucchio, San Leo, Bertinoro, Longiano, Brisighella and many others.
RAVENNAThe Mausoleum of Galla Placidia is a small, sober building, laid out in the shape of a Latin cross. This completely hides the riches contained within: the Christian mosaics represent the victory of life over death.
The Catholic Baptistery is sometimes called the Orthodox Baptistery, to distinguish it from the Arian one ordered by Theodoric, king of the Goths. The marbles of the socle seem to have been taken from secular buildings, and these added to the splendour of stuccoes, and the mosaics of the cupola.
The Arian Baptistery (4th century) Its layout is an octagon, with a cupola decorated by a mosaic depicting the Baptism of Our Lord, Whom the Arian Gnostics denied was the Son of God.
The Basilica of St Apollinaris at Classis to be built for the Arians, although it was later to become a Catholic Church. The walls of the nave are completely covered in mosaics. The upper part shows scenes from the life and passion of Our Lord, and the lower part contains stunning processions of Martyrs and Virgins from the Byzantine period.
The Chapel of the Archiepiscopal Palace of St Peter Chrysologus was the only Orthodox building during the reign of Theodoric. The mosaics it contains depict the fight against the heresy of Arius, and Our Lord is portrayed as a warrior.
The Mausoleum of Theodoric, a decagonal structure, is the monument that reveals Roman art in its purest form, at once austere and graceful. Built using enormous blocks of stone from Istria, it extends to two floors.
The Basilica of St Vitalis is one of the purest examples of early Christian art in Italy, a sort of transition from classical to Byzantine architecture. It is a work of the architect Julianus Argentarius, with an octagonal structure of nearly 114 feet in diameter. The outside is an extremely rich alternation between different architectural shapes. The inside is of surprising beauty, owing to the originality of its layout, its marble coverings, and mosaics. The sanctuary is the most precious part, because of the richness of its mosaics, with an iconography based upon sacred liturgy.
Basilica of St Apollinaris at Classis, A mere five kilometres from Ravenna, outside the walls of the ancient port. The church, a basilica from 549 with a cylindrical bell tower, dominates the surrounding countryside. The interior is solemn and grandiose; the apse mosaics represent Ravenna's patron saint preaching, surrounded by views of Ravenna.
CESENATICOWalking along the quay you immediately come to Pisacane Square. The old centre of Cesenatico has an extremely anarchic toponimy: the Parish Church of St. Giacomo is situated along via Giordano Bruno; in the church there are two interesting paintings by Cagnacci.
In Pisacane Square there is one of the first statues ever erected in Italy (in 1885) to Giuseppe Garibaldi. Opposite , on the side of the Ponte della Piazza (Square Bridge), there are the remains of two ancient columns, probably of Greek-Byzantine origin, which were erected during the dominion of the Venetians in 1500.
On the corner of the left –hand bank of the port there is the natal house of Marino Moretti, a gifted poet who was highly ranked on the national panorama and died in 1979, at the age of 94.
Today the House of Moretti is an important cultural workshop dedicated to the literature of the twentieth-century.
GATTEO (GATTEO A MARE)In the square of Gatteo (the main town) on the right, there is a beautiful St. Rocco Church with its interesting, antique frescoes. Again in the square there are the ruins of the ancient Castle which has been restored recently.
In the quiet of the old churches- among which there is the St. Lorenzo Parish Church, again in the small centre of Gatteo- noteworthy eighteenth century canvases can be admired, for example the “Alms of St. Lorenzo” and the “Saints” from the Bolognese school.
Proceding from Gatteo towards smiling Gatteo a Mare, you can find a small but welcoming “beehive” of meeting places and proposals for turists: cars have been banned from Gatteo a mare, as the important urban decoration confirm (Viale delle Nazioni, Libertà Square), which during the summer months make the seaside resort a real pedestrian “island” ideal for a walk, a chat, an ice-cream or a coffee.
The name of the municipality is a peculiarity: Giovanni Pascoli, one of the most important poets of the cultural panorama of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, was born here.
It is the sweet thread of Pascoli’s poetry, which many people have memorised sat at their school desks, to beat out during the walks which lead from the main town to the sea.
At a short distance from the village there is La Torre, an agricultural house of the Torlonia family: here while the popolars of Rio Salto (do you remember “The dapple grey horse” ?) whispered, Giovanni Pascoli’s father, administrator of the Torlonia was killed, while he was coming home from Cesena market on that mysterious evening of the 10th August 1867.
In the main town, Casa Pascoli which has been a national monument since 1924 is really worth a visit. It is a small but interesting domestic museum, where the environments in which the poet spent his childhood have been preserved as they were when he lived there.
LA VALLE DEL RUBICONE
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