The Story Of Ravenna

A riveting history of the city that led the West out of the ruins of the Roman Empire At the end of the fourth century, as the power of Rome faded and Constantinople became the seat of empire, a new capital city was rising in the West. Here, in Ravenna on the coast of Italy, Arian Goths and Catholic Romans competed to produce an unrivaled concentration of buildings and astonishing mosaics. For three centuries, the city attracted scholars, lawyers, craftsmen, and religious luminaries, becoming a true cultural and political capital. Bringing this extraordinary history marvelously to life, Judith Herrin rewrites the history of East and West in the Mediterranean world before the rise of Islam and shows how, thanks to Byzantine influence, Ravenna played a crucial role in the development of medieval Christendom. Drawing on deep, original research, Herrin tells the personal stories of Ravenna while setting them in a sweeping synthesis of Mediterranean and Christian history. She narrates the lives of the Empress Galla Placidia and the Gothic king Theoderic and describes the achievements of an amazing cosmographer and a doctor who revived Greek medical knowledge in Italy, demolishing the idea that the West just descended into the medieval "Dark Ages." Beautifully illustrated and drawing on the latest archaeological findings, this monumental book provides a bold new interpretation of Ravenna's lasting influence on the culture of Europe and the West.

This translation makes this fascinating text accessible for the first time to an English-speaking audience. A substantial introduction to Agnellus and his composition of the text is included along with a full bibliography

"Ravenna" is a historical and cultural study by Edward Hutton, first published in 1913. The book explores the city of Ravenna in Northern Italy, which served as the capital of the Western Roman Empire and the Byzantine Empire in the 5th and 6th centuries. Hutton delves into the city's art, architecture, and history and provides a detailed account of the mosaics that adorn the city's buildings. The book is considered a classic in Italian travel writing and continues to be popular among history and art enthusiasts.

Tony Burgess has been experimenting with apocalypse fiction in numerous earlier works: the language/speech virus in 'Pontypool', the enigmatic small world in the big world of Caesarea, and other less elaborate speculations. News coverage of the fall of Baghdad and its aftermath were the inspiration for 'Ravenna,' especially the smaller stories of people being killed suddenly in their homes in the middle of otherwise normal days. Each story in 'Ravenna Gets' begins as any novel might,but abruptly loses the luxury of becoming a novel through a seemingly random and violent intrusion from beyond the world established by the story. The effect is intended to be that of the experience of war as the sudden end of stories, rather than being a war story itself. This destabilizing 'pinch' seeps into the consciousness of some of the stories, not as a consciousness of events, but rather as nightmarish bends in experience and perception. 'Ravenna Gets' could probably be classified as speculative fiction, influenced by J.G. Ballard, and, though experimental in spirit, it employs strong conventional storytelling techniques."...out on the edge and experimental to the point of reader-confusion, but surprisingly alluring. When taking a reader to the cliff edge, then the writing must be as enticing as chocolate even if the story smells bad. I don't get it and I didn't enjoy it, but I couldn't look away: This poetic, fast-flying nihilistic narrative of carnage is well done." - Globe & Mail" 'Ravenna Gets', in particular, concerns itself with sudden and convulsive deaths; Christmas reading this is not. Many of the tales, which are all named after an address in Collingwood, begin like a standard short story - what Burgess calls "the lightness and the pointlessness of establishing life" - before its characters are suddenly dispatched in a variety of ghoulish ways." - The Ottawa Citizen" 'In Ravenna Gets', Tony Burgess is up to his old, sick, satisfying tricks. Small Ontario towns are whacking each other with more gore than Hostel, more pitchforks than American Gothic. This is a pitiful excuse for literature and Tony Burgess is our only hope." - Clint Burnham, author of 'Smoke Show' and 'Airborne Photo'

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A comprehensive survey of Ravenna's history and monuments in late antiquity, including discussions of scholarly controversies, archaeological discoveries, and interpretations of art works.