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This is Basilica St. Vitale, in Ravenna. This church is decorated with many 6 th century Byzantine mosaics telling the life story of St. Vitalis. But what does all that mean? Who was St. Vitalis and why is a Basilica named for him? For that matter, what is a Basilica. Where is Ravenna?
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This is Basilica St. Vitale, in Ravenna This church is decorated with many 6th century Byzantine mosaics telling the life story of St. Vitalis. But what does all that mean? Who was St. Vitalis and why is a Basilica named for him? For that matter, what is a Basilica. Where is Ravenna? I will try to answer these and other questions on the next few slides. And Here We Go!
1. In what country is Ravenna located? Hope you have your thinking cap on! 2. On what continent is Ravenna located? 3. What does “6th century” mean? 4. What does Byzantine mean? 5. What is a mosaic? 6. What is a Basilica? 7. Who was St. Vitale? 8. Why is Ravenna famous in history?
In what country is Ravenna located? • On what continent is Ravenna located? Ravenna is in the country of Italy, on the continent of Europe. Italy is one of the oldest • countries in the world. It has many important historical building, and was the location of many important events in world history (including the rise of the Roman Empire). • Ravenna is a small coastal city on the eastern coast of Italy, just south of Venice. RAVENNA Note, anytime you see an underlined word, it means the word is linked to the internet where you can find more information on the subject.
3. What does “6th century” mean? Well, the first thing we need to understand is that the word century means 100 years. To us that sounds like a long time, but when you talk about world history it isn’t long at all. Americans count years in history starting from the birth of Jesus, so the first year after his birth was the year 1. The span of time from that first year, until the year 99, is known as the 1st century. So if century is 100 years and we think about the 6th century, the 6th century would be from the year 501 to 600. We are currently in the year 2005, which is 5 years into the 21st century. 1994 Your birth year 1 Birth of Christ 2005 This year 100 300 500 700 900 1100 1300 1500 1700 1900 2100 0 20th Century 1st Century 6st Century When the Ravenna Basilica was built
3. What does “6th century” mean? Well, the first thing we need to understand is that the word century means 100 years. To us that sounds like a long time, but to the whole world it isn’t long at all. Americans count years in history starting from the birth of Jesus, so the first year after his birth was the year 1. The span of time from that first year, until the year 99, is known as the 1st century. So if century is 100 years and we think about the 6th century, the 6th century would be from the year 501 to 600. We are currently in the year 2005, which is 5 years into the 21st century. 1995 Your birth year 1 Birth of Christ 2005 This year 100 300 500 700 900 1100 1300 1500 1700 1900 2100 0 As you can see, the period of time from the 6th century till now is about 1400 years. That’s even older than your Mom and Dad.
4. What is Byzantine? Byzantine refers to anything related to the Byzantine Empire. Think of it as “Byzantines” being the name of the people, and there “Empire” being there home or country. It’s kind of like “Americans” being the name of the people and the “United States” being our home or country. This color is used to show all the land that belonged to the Byzantine Empire. Ravenna The name Byzantine comes from the name of their capital city, Byzantium. This rich and powerful country rose to power in the 5th century (between the years 401 to 500). The Empire lasted from many hundreds of years and in that time it’s boundaries changed several times, but the area generally covered parts of southern Europe (including Italy) and Asia Minor (now known as Turkey). As you can see Ravenna was never part of the Byzantine Empire, but the Empire influenced them. Indeed the influence of the Byzantine Empire can be seen throughout most of Eastern Europe and Russia.
5. What is a mosaic? A mosaic is a picture made by setting small colored pieces of stone, tile, or glass into a surface. It is an easy thing to do, but it takes a long time and great skill to perfect it. The people of Byzantium were experts.
6. What is a Basilica? Basically a Basilica is something like a Cathedral, which is a large important church. That is an overly simple explanation but you get the idea. There is a lot more to a Basilica so if you’re interested to know more look on line. St Peter’s Basilica in Rome The layout of a Roman Basilica consists of a central nave, which terminated into an apse, flanked by two side aisles. This design became very influential early in Christian architecture and the term Basilica now describes any church with a long nave ending in an apse, with two side aisles. St Basil’s Cathedral in Moscow
7. Who was St. Vitale? His name was actually Saint Vitalis, and the Basilica in Ravenna was named for him because is offered comfort to another saint who was to be executed. When Vitalis was discovered to be a Christian, the same judge ordered Vitalis to be killed. There are no pictures of St Vitalis, but this mosaic, which is in his Basilica, is believed to represent him. A saint is a person recognized by the Church as being guided by God. A person cannot be named a saint until they die. At that time the church investigates their life for evidence of divine influence. It is interesting to know that St Vitalis’ wife, and both his sons are also Saints
8. Why is Ravenna famous? This is a super tough question; so do not feel bad if you didn’t figure it out. Ravenna is most famous in history because it was once the capital of the Western Roman Empire. In the year 402 CE the Emperor moved his capital from Milan to Ravenna because he was scared his capital city would be invaded. Ravenna was easier to defend, but was also later invaded. In trying to answer these questions I realized that I presented many more questions. Who were the Romans? Why was a man killed for being a Christian? What happened to the Byzantine Empire? I encourage to look for more. Look for the connections in all these things. Drive your parents crazy if you must, but remember. There is no such thing as a bad question! Love, Uncle JD
This is Mount Kilimanjaro Do a little research and I’ll get back to you with the answers. Any idea where it is? What country, what continent? What kind of mountain is Kilimanjaro? What is a plateau, and what famous plateau is near Mt. Kilimanjaro?
