Church of Saint John the Evangelist: Attraction informations
The Church of Saint John the Evangelist (Chiesa di San Giovanni Evangelista) is the first one to be seen going out from the Railway Station of Ravenna. It appears fairly isolated from the rest of the historical context of the city, as it is surrounded by modern buildings. In the past, the church was in the city center, although slightly decentralized, rising near the old coastline.
The wish of Galla Placidia
The church was built during the 5th century commissioned by
Empress Galla Placidia. Galla was the niece of Emperor
Valentinian I, her uncles were emperors
Gratian and Valentinian II and both her half-brothers,
Arcadius and Honorius, were emperors as well. She will marry
Ataulfus, king of the Visigoth, and subsequently
Costantius III, who was then emperor of the Roman Empire of the Western World.
To further list her involvement with the regal dynasties of her time we must recall that both her son, Valentinian III and her nephew, Theodosius II, sat upon the throne of the Empire. Galla Placidia can therefore be considered
one of the main characters of her period.
Her son Valentinian III sat on the throne when he was too young to be able to rule. Therefore, Galla Placidia took control of the empire as co-ruler for a very long time. Galla commissioned the building of the church as a vow made on her return from
Constantinople, where she went after the death of her brother Honorius.
During her trip back to Ravenna, her ship was involved in a terrible storm, and the empress vowed to build an imposing religious building if she were to survive. Once back to Ravenna she stood by her vows.
The structure of Saint John the Evangelist
The entrance was preceded by 4 huge gates, which have been destroyed through the centuries and which are currently substituted by a simple structure that opens to a small green space.
Crossing a
beautiful gate of the 14th century, we find ourselves in a space divided in 3 naves. On their walls the fragments of the
ancient pavement of the church, from the 13th century, saved and exposed. This ancient decorations display typical images from those days: knights and damsels, fantasy animals, and images from the crusades that were then taking place.
The church has undergone several interventions, both internal and external. The most important restoration took place in
1944, when it was severely damaged by air bombings which destroyed the cycle of frescoes from the 12th, 13th and 14th century, and the mosaics that once covered the apse.
Its tower bell from the 10th century still stands next to the church of Saint John the Evangelist.
This building, like all others in the city of Ravenna, has undergone the effects of the
phenomenon of subsidence, that is, the sinking of the old buildings inside the unstable terrain of the city, which has lowered the old planking level several meters comparedo to the current one.
We need therefore to imagine it higher than it is, an extraordinary peak on the Ravenna’s old skyline.
