Piazza Duomo in Ravenna.

Piazza Duomo in Ravenna. Hotels near Piazza Duomo.

Photo: 1)Piazza Duomo, view of the Cathedral with the column of the Virgin, 2)Piazza Duomo, Palazzo Fantuzzi Farini, 3)Piazza Duomo, the Seminary,4)Piazza Duomo, the statue of the Virgin,5) the Cathedral, 6)inside, 7) the Cathedral campanile,8)S.Giustina,9)inscription

At the centre of the square is the column made of grey granite, dating back to the Roman era, and which features a statue of the Virgin, which was positioned there in 1659 to commemorate the end of the plague.

The area is dominated by the cathedral, its current aspect being the result of its complete restoration in 1734, when the Ursiana Basilica was demolished, that dated back to the IV century and which formed the first Bishopric seat of the town. (refer to Pietro Da Rimini ).

It was Bishop Farsetti who, in view of the problems relating to the lowering the ground level and the emergence of the bedding, who ordered the construction of a new and healthier church, the project being commissioned to the architect Gian Francesco Buonamici.

The undertaking was complete in 1745 with the addition of the underlying portico by archbishop Guiccioli, as remembered in the writing above.

It was the same Buonamici, who twenty years later was responsible for building a structure alongside the cathedral, which was known as the Rotonda di Santa Giustina, on behalf of the Confraternity of the Sacramento della Metropolitana, that moved from the church of Santa Giustina in Capite Porticus, which was no longer safe due to subsidence.

On the opposite side of the square of palazzo Fantuzzi Farini, of 17^th century style,  the facade of harmonious proportions, embellished by the symmetrical elegance of the elements made of Istria stone.

It was originally the residence of the Counts Fantuzzi, who were originally from Bologna, but who had lived in Ravenna since the XV century. Amongst the family members, Marco was the leading figure of the second half of the 18^th century, as he was an intellectual involved in civil and political life and with a true reformist spirit.

He prepared detailed analyses of the economic, financial and political conditions of the town, of the Romagna legation and the Papal state, however earning the displeasure of the ruling classes and the Roman curia.

He was also responsible for publishing a whole series of documents from the Middle ages, in a work in six volumes of Ravenna monuments during the middle centuries. It was Marco Fantuzzi, who in 1775, sold the building which was subsequently purchased by the Farini, originally of the Russi and who still own it today.

In front of the cathedral the seminary still has the same appearance as it had in 1930, when it was totally re-built, through the destruction of the 16^th century church of San Girolamo also.

This ancient building had since 1670 been a Jesuit college; and in 1779, following the suppression of the order it became the new seat of the Ravenna seminary, set up in 1567 and originally located in what is today known as via Mariani, which was at the time known as the road of the Old Seminary.

Prof. Gianni Morelli, Anna Missiroli

The pleasure of fine accommodation in the centre of Ravenna: we recommend the Fabbri hotels for a pleasant stay as follows:

The Centrale Byron Hotel, 3-star hotel in the centre of Ravenna, close to the main momuments;

The Bisanzio Hotel, 4-star hotel in the centre of Ravenna, close to the main momuments;

Once you have reached the hotel and parked your car, forget it and walk everywhere, because everything is within walking distance. 


© reserved copyright