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RAVENNA
Constructed to a rough polygonal
design, with a rectangular Piazza del Popolo (Square) in its
centre, the city remained enclosed within the ancient city
walls for a long period; there are still some traces remaining.
It is of Umbrian-Etruscan origins (the name is almost definitely
Etruscan), apart from a legend which states that it was founded
by the Tessali.
It is situated by the sea, in a very favourable and strategical
position as well as an excellent commercial one.
Its story is not very notable up until the end of the III
Century BC, when the city entered into the realms of Rome
as Civitas Foederata. Decorated by Roman citizenship in ’89
BC, and therefore established as a Municipality: Its importance
was notably augmented when Augusto had the Military Port of
Classe constructed, destined to be the main base for the Eastern
Mediterranean fleet. During the last centuries of the Empire,
it became politically important and was eventually chosen
as the New Capital of the Western Empire by Onorio, who was
forced to abandon Milan - he was ejected by the invasion of
the Visigoti (402). In 476, it was conquered by Odoacre, who
in turn, suffered and surrendered after a long siege (490-493)
to Teodorico. Being the residence of the King of the Ostrogoths,
the City was adorned during the Teodorico times, and shortly
after by wonderful buildings, both profane and sacred. It
was besieged and conquered by Belisario at the beginning of
the war between the Ostrogoths and Byzantines (540). When
the Longobards invaded the peninsula, the Emperor Maurizio,
under his own initiatives made it the capital of Byzantine
Italy; residence of the Head of the Military forces and the
civil imperial administration, exarch patricius et exarchus
Italiae. The presence of a Byzantine type court increased
the honour, prestige and influence of the City, putting it
in a position of competition with Rome. Escaping numerous
attempts of being conquered by the Longobards, Ravenna was
besieged in 728 by King Liutprando during the Romagna invasion;
ending under Longobard rule. Shortly afterwards however, the
City returned under Byzantine rule (and underwent a further
siege in 734) in force under Venetian participation and agreements
between the Papacy, Empire and Longobards. The great offensive
by Astolfo saw the fall of Ravenna and Longobard possession
of the Exarchate (751); but they were soon ejected by the
Franco’s of Pipino, who defeated Astolfo (754 and 756)
and who included Ravenna, together with its territory, in
the huge donation to Pope Stefano II. Ravenna was then under
communal governing, first under the Episcopal patronage, then
contested amongst the aspiring noble families, amongst which,
after a brief preponderance by the Traversari, the Da Polenta
family asserted itself as the governing body. The advent of
their lordship, initiated by Guido Minore in 1275, coincided
with the formal cessation of the Romagna to the Pope on behalf
of King Rodolfo of Hapsburg (1276) and with the acceptance
of the progressive and ineluctable absorption of Ravenna’s
commercial resources by Venice, virtually sovereign of the
City since 1410. After sixty years of Venetian domination,
Ravenna was reunited to the Pontificate State during the papacy
of Giulio II. Occupied by the French in 1796, it followed
the fate of the Cispadana republic and that of the Cisalpina,
Italian and Italic Reign. On the fall of Napoleon, it returned
to the Pope, who conserved it thanks to Austrian help, from
1815 to 1859. The formal annexation of the Ravenna territory
to Sardinian rule, predisposed from the uprising of 13th June
1859, was decreed on 18th March 1860.
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