Journal articles on the topic 'Apollinare in Classe (Ravenna)'

The Transfiguration constitutes one of the most important events in the New Testament. Yet, only few pre-iconoclastic examples of the Transfiguration scene have survived: S. Apollinaire in Classe, Ravenna, St. Catherine Monastery, Sinai and Porec in Istria, each has its unique iconography. Therefore, scholars have concluded that the Transfiguration scene became widespread only after the iconoclastic controversy. We aim to show, that Transfiguration scene in Shivta, an early Byzantine settlement in the Negev desert, allows a glimpse into the early Christian iconography of the well-known scene, providing a missing link to its development in the post-iconoclastic period.

This article examines the evidence for Germanic ‘Arianism’ in the exceptionally well preserved buildings and mosaics of Ravenna. Despite theological differences, Arian iconography appears to be almost identical to that of the ‘Catholics’ (e.g. in depictions of Christ in S. Apollinare Nuovo and the Arian Baptistery). Different attitudes to God the Son are only really apparent when supported by texts. However, there are clear material traces of Catholic triumphalism after the defeat of the Arian Goths; and we should not assume that there were no strongly held differences of view, just because the iconography of the two sects is so similar.

В статье рассматривается богословие Преображения. Отмечается богословская взаимосвязанность со сценами Крещения и Гефсиманского борения, тождественность сцены Преображения у синоптиков с Прославлением в Евангелии от Иоанна. Если первое художественное изображение сцены в базилике св. Аполлинария (Равенна, Классе, ок. 549 г.) использует её для обобщённого богословского образа Иисуса средствами художественной аллегории, то следующее - в базилике монастыря св. Екатерины на Синае (ок. 565 г.) - стремится преодолеть символизм и аллегоризм средствами и приёмами иконописи. The paper deals with a theology of Transfiguration. It points out its mutual theological affinity with the Baptism and Gethsemane Agony scenes within Synoptic Gospels as well as with Glorification in John 12. The first artistic image of Transfiguration in the Basilica di Sant’ Apollinare in Classe, about 550, presents a theologically generalized image of Jesus by means of allegory, whereas the next attempt in St Katharina of Sinai, about 565, tends to overcome symbolism and allegory by means of iconography.

В статье рассматривается богословие Преображения. Отмечается богословская взаимосвязанность со сценами Крещения и Гефсиманского борения, тождественность сцены Преображения у синоптиков с Прославлением в Евангелии от Иоанна. Если первое художественное изображение сцены в базилике св. Аполлинария (Равенна, Классе, ок. 549 г.) использует её для обобщённого богословского образа Иисуса средствами художественной аллегории, то следующее - в базилике монастыря св. Екатерины на Синае (ок. 565 г.) - стремится преодолеть символизм и аллегоризм средствами и приёмами иконописи. The paper deals with a theology of Transfiguration. It points out its mutual theological affinity with the Baptism and Gethsemane Agony scenes within Synoptic Gospels as well as with Glorification in John 12. The first artistic image of Transfiguration in the Basilica di Sant’ Apollinare in Classe, about 550, presents a theologically generalized image of Jesus by means of allegory, whereas the next attempt in St Katharina of Sinai, about 565, tends to overcome symbolism and allegory by means of iconography.

Side chambers-rooms flanking the apses of churches-occur throughout broad geographical areas in the Christian East, and within a wide chronological span, ranging from the 5th through 12th centuries. This article, however, will carefully examine the side chambers of only six 5th- and 6th-century churches clustered in the Ravenna/Classe region of the Western Empire. The side chambers of these churches have usually been seen as forming a close typological and chronological group whose existence is thought to prove the Byzantine influence on this late capital of the Western Empire. For this reason, the side chambers are often erroneously referred to as pastophoria. These chambers were not pastophoria, as the word is commonly used by architectural historians when referring to the side chambers of Middle Byzantine churches with specific liturgical requirements. Instead, they vary widely in both form and function; they seem not to be liturgically required; and they seem to have a specific iconography.

The buildings of the John Paul II Centre (CJPII) are located in Cracow-Łagiewniki on a heap of limestone sediments from the former "Solvay" Sodium Plant in Cracow. The area is called "White Seas" (Białe Morze) and is located in the natural depression of the Wilga river valley, between Św. Józefa hill in the north and Borkowska Hill (Góra Borkowska) in the south-west. The limestone sediments as a building substrate for CJPII buildings is unprecedented ground in the world and thus a challenge for civil engineering. The height of the heap reaches about 15 m and has retained the consistency of a white pulp until today. CJPII buildings are objects of the third geotechnical category, founded on a foundation slab of 0.8-m thickness, and in the central part of 0.45-m thickness. The slab is based on 200 reinforced concrete CFA-type drilled piles with a diameter of 1000 mm and 650 mm and length up to 26 m. The load-bearing structure of the CJPII buildings is a reinforced concrete frame and shell structure. The symbolism of the urban complex (e.g. the scale of the market square in Wadowice), located on a system of 200 piles above the post-industrial landfill/heaps of sediments, is ensured with architectural solutions referring to places connected with the life of John Paul II – during the occupation in 1940-1944 he was a student of Jagiellonian University in Cracow and the worker of the Solvay factory in the Podgórze district, in 1958 he became a bishop of Cracow, in 1967 – the cardinal (architectural details from the St. Mary Church and the Wawel Cathedral), 1978-2005 – the pilgrim-pope from Rome, who confirmed the mission of the Church continuing the tradition depicted in the early-christian churches on the wall mosaics (the Basilica of San Vitale and the Basilica of Sant’ Apollinare Nuovo in Ravenna).

The availability of a large number of data acquired by satellite sensors with different spatial and spectral resolutions has always required an evaluation of their synergistic use. The integration of dataset of images coming from different sources can be an optimal solution for the study of various environmental problems which need a continuous monitoring (coastal development, forest evolution, land use changes etc.). The Classe pinewood, an important safeguarded biodiversity hot spot near Ravenna city (Italy), is historically affected by the groundwater salinization. Since changes in the water concentration are able to induce variations of the leaf properties and vegetation cover, recognizable by surveys carried out with different spectral bands, the comparison between ASTER and Worldview-2 data was performed using the (Normalized Difference Vegetation Index) NDVI. For each satellite data, the same Areas of Interest (AOIs) were selected within the most widespread cover, Thermophilic Deciduous Forest (TDF). The NDVI was calculated, statistically evaluated and the AOI rankings were built. In order to evaluate the difference between the results provided by the two images, statistical tests were applied on the average NDVI values. Finally the calculated NDVI were compared with groundwater salinity data collected during a contemporary field monitoring campaign. Based on groundwater salinity the same AOIs ranking was reached for both satellite sensors. This study suggests the opportunity to employ the medium resolution Aster images in continuity with high resolution WarldView-2 dataset.

The church of St Mary at Pula was rededicated to St Nicholas in 1583 when it was handed over for the use of the Greek Orthodox community of refugees from Crete and the Peloponnese. During the seventeenth and eighteenth century, various structures (the bell-tower, the narthex, the sacristy) were added along the eastern and northern sides of the church, several door and window openings were walled in, and the lintel and jambs of the main portal were replaced; however, the main architectural core has remained well-preserved. It has a single-cell structure of square ground plan with an eastern apse, which is semicircular in shape in the inside but polygonal on the outside. The dimensions of the church are based on a module of ten Byzantine feet (c. 31.25 cm); the church is 20 feet wide and 30 feet long, while a 10 foot square can fit into the apse. In the interior is a well-preserved triumphal arch. It is composed of a pair of marble columns with capitals which carry a large, central arch. The composite capitals possess an interesting detail: the centres of the capitals on opposing sides were left undecorated and so it can be concluded that these capitals were intended for insertion in a multi-apertured structure which was screened off with a transenna. Such capitals can be seen on large early Byzantine structures, and two similar capitals are placed in the atrium of the Basilica of Euphrasius at Poreč (mid-sixth century). This detail provides evidence about a technique used in the church’s construction, which made extensive use of prefabricated, often even imported elements of architectural decoration. The same type of marble used for the columns of the triumphal arch was used for the parts of the small trifore window set on the façade. In the scholarly literature to date, this trifore has been considered late medieval, but the carving details are identical to those on the parts of the triumphal arch and altar posts at the church of St Nicholas. The masonry of the wall also points to the fact that it had not been inserted in the sixth-century façade at a later date. In the centre of the apse is a marble block which belonged to an altar base, having four holes which still bear the lower parts of the small posts which originally carried the altar table. The remains of the altar can be seen on the photographs which document the restoration works in 1962. The altar remains were subsequently covered with a new altar structure which was removed during the works in 2000. In 1962, when the filling of the window in the south wall was removed, B. Marušić discovered a part of a marble post with a simple capital which he recognized as belonging to the aforementioned altar. Based on this data, a reconstruction of the altar has been proposed in a drawing. B. Marušić also discovered two stone transennae in the walled in-windows of the south wall, which were smaller than the original structure of the window opening and for this reason he suggested that they belonged to a later intervention. The transennae were removed and transported to the Archaeological Museum of Istria for safekeeping. During the 2000 works, fragments of identical transennae were also found in two apse windows, while a complete transenna was discovered in the walled-in window on the north face which was obscured by the addition of the bell-tower. Similar and identical transennae are found on the nearby chapel of Santa Maria Formosa, the remainder of a large basilica which was built in the mid-sixth century by the archbishop of Ravenna Maximian. In the vicinity of Pula, at least three more examples of similar transennae were found, all of which can be compared to the shape of a wooden window frame from the church of Sant’Apollinare in Classe at Ravenna. A number of arguments suggest that the aforementioned transennae belong to the first phase of the church of St Nicholas.

The historical research of the illustrated Nuremberg Chronicle [Schedelsche Weltchronik (English: Schedel’s World Chronicle)] of Hartmann Schedel com­prises the complex historical knowledge about numerous woodcuts which pre­sent views of various cities important in the world’s history, e.g. Jerusalem, Constantinople, or the European ones such as: Rome, some Italian, German or Polish cities e.g. Wrocław and Cracow; some Hungarian and some Czech Republic cities. Researchers have made a serious study to recognize certain constructions in the woodcuts; they indicated the conservative and contractual architecture, the existing places and the unrealistic (non-existent) places. The results show that there is a common detail in all the views – the defensive wall round each of the described cities. However, in reality, it may not have existed in some cities during the lifetime of the authors of the woodcuts. As for some further details: behind the walls we can see feudal castles on the hills shown as strongholds. Within the defensive walls there are numerous buildings with many towers typical for the Middle Ages and true-to-life in certain ways of building the cities. Schematically drawn buildings surrounded by the ring of defensive walls indicate that the author used certain patterns based on the previously created panoramic views. This article is an attempt of making analogical comparisons of the cities in medieval painting. The Author of the article presents Roman mosaics and the miniature painting e.g. the ones created in the scriptorium in Reichenau. Since the beginning of 14th century Italian painters such as: Duccio di Buoninsegna, Giotto di Bondone, Simone Martini and Ambrogio Lorenzetti painted parts of the cities or the entire monumental panoramas in various compositions and with various meanings. One defining rule in this painting concerned the definitions of the cities given by Saint Isidore of Seville, based on the rules which he knew from the antique tradition. These are: urbs – the cities full of architecture and buildings but uninhabited or civita – the city, the living space of the human life, build-up space, engaged according to the law, kind of work and social hierarchy. The tra­dition of both ways of describing the city is rooted in Italy. This article indicates the particular meaning of Italian painting in distributing the image of the city – as the votive offering. The research conducted by Chiara Frugoni and others indica­ted the meaning of the city images in the painting of various forms of panegyrics created in high praise of cities, known as laude (Lat.). We can find the examples of them rooted in the Roman tradition of mosaics, e.g. in San Apollinare Nuovo in Ravenna. They present both palatium and civitas. The medieval Italian painting, especially the panel painting, presents the city structure models which are uninha­bited and deprived of any signs of everyday life. The models of cities – urbs, are presented as votive offerings devoted to their patron saints, especially to Virgin Mary. The city shaped as oval or sinusoidal rings surrounded by the defensive walls resembled a container filled with buildings. Only few of them reflected the existing cities and could mainly be identified thanks to the inscriptions. The most characteristic examples were: the fresco of Taddeo di Bartolo in Palazzo Publico in Siena, which presented the Dominican Order friar Ambrogio Sansedoni holding the model of his city – Siena, with its most recognizable building - the Cathedral dedicated to the Assumption of Mary. The same painter, referred to as the master painter of the views of the cities as the votive offerings, painted the Saint Antilla with the model of Montepulciano in the painting from 1401 for the Cathedral devoted to the Assumption of Mary in Montepulciano. In the painting made by T. di Bartolo, the bishop of the city of Gimignano, Saint Gimignano, presents the city in the shape of a round lens surrounded by defence walls with numerous church towers and the feudal headquarters characteristic for the city. His dummer of the city is pyramidally-structured, the hills are mounted on the steep slopes reflecting the analogy to the topography of the city. We can also find the texts of songs, laude (Lat.) and panegyrics created in honour of the cities and their rulers, e.g. the texts in honour of Milan, Bonvesin for La Riva, known in Europe at that time. The city – Arcadia (utopia) in the modern style. Hartman Schedel, as a bibliophile and a scholar, knew the texts of medieval writers and Italian art but, as an ambitious humanist, he could not disregard the latest, contemporary trends of Renaissance which were coming from Nuremberg and from Italian ci­ties. The views of Arcadia – the utopian city, were rapidly developing, as they were of great importance for the rich recipient in the beginning of the modern era overwhelmed by the early capitalism. It was then when the two opposites were combined – the shepherd and the knight, the Greek Arcadia with the medie­val city. The reception of Virgil’s Arcadia in the medieval literature and art was being developed again in the elite circles at the end of 15th century. The cultural meaning of the historical loci, the Greek places of the ancient history and the memory of Christianity constituted the essence of historicism in the Renaissance at the courts of the Comnenos and of the Palaiologos dynasty, which inspired the Renaissance of the Latin culture circle. The pastoral idleness concept came from Venice where Virgil’s books were published in print in 1470, the books of Ovid: Fasti and Metamorphoses were published in 1497 and Sannazaro’s Arcadia was published in 1502, previously distributed in his handwriting since 1480. Literature topics presented the historical works as memoria, both ancient and Christian, composed into the images. The city maps drawn by Hartmann Schedel, the doctor and humanist from Nurnberg, refer to the medieval images of urbs, the woodcuts with the cities, known to the author from the Italian painting of the greatest masters of the Trecenta period. As a humanist he knew the literature of the Renaissance of Florence and Venice with the Arcadian themes of both the Greek and the Roman tradition. The view of Constantinople in the context of the contemporary political situation, is presented in a series of monuments of architecture, with columns and defensive walls, which reminded of the history of the city from its greatest time of Constantine the Great, Justinian I and the Comnenus dynasty. Schedel’s work of art is the sum of the knowledge written down or painted. It is also the result of the experiments of new technology. It is possible that Schedel was inspired by the hymns, laude, written by Psellos in honour of Constantinople in his elaborate ecphrases as the panegyrics for the rulers of the Greek dynasty – the Macedonians. Already in that time, the Greek ideal of beauty was reborn, both in literature and in fine arts. The illustrated History of the World presented in Schedel’s woodcuts is given to the recipients who are educated and to those who are anonymous, in the spirit of the new anthropology. It results from the nature of the woodcut reproduc­tion, that is from the way of copying the same images. The artist must have strived to gain the recipients for his works as the woodcuts were created both in Latin and in German. The collected views were supposed to transfer historical, biblical and mythological knowledge in the new way of communication.