Cathedral of the Resurrection of Our Lord Jesus Christ, Ravenna, Italy

The Ancient Ursiana Basilica

The Ravenna Cathedral was originally designed following the transfer of the Western Roman Empire’s capital from Milan to Ravenna, which was planned for the year 402. This change also led to the relocation of the episcopal seat from Classe to Ravenna. The cathedral’s construction and dedication were overseen by Bishop Orso. Located in the heart of the city, the cathedral was consecrated on April 3, 407, and was dedicated to the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, known in ancient Greek as Hagìa Anástasis. From the name of its founder, it became known as the “Basilica Ursiana.”

The early Christian-style church measured approximately 60 meters in length and 35 meters in width. It featured a design without a transept and had a five-nave layout, with the four lateral naves being of equal width and the central nave twice as wide. Round arches supported by marble columns divided the naves, with fifteen arches on each side. The central nave culminated in a semicircular apse, with a polygonal exterior, flanked by the pastophorion on one side and the diaconicon on the other—features still seen in various churches in Ravenna, such as the Basilica of San Francesco and the Church of San Giovanni Evangelista. The cathedral’s design bore a clear resemblance to the structures of the Basilica Maior in Milan (circa 350) and the Basilica C in Nicopolis, Epirus (mid-6th century), although these latter examples had a transverse nave.

In the 10th century, a cylindrical bell tower was added, and by 1112, significant renovations were made to the cathedral’s mosaic decorations. On the triumphal arch, the risen Christ appeared among the apostles, while Saint Peter sent Saint Apollinaris to Ravenna on the left, and Saint Apollinaris arrived at the gates of the city on the right. The pendentives displayed Abel on one side and Cain on the other, both depicted in the act of sacrificing to God. In the apse, five arched windows were adorned with mosaics showing Saint Apollinaris praying between rows of bishops, and in the upper register, images of Saint Ursicino, the Virgin Mary in prayer, Saint John the Baptist, and Saint Barbaziano, with the Martyrdom of Saint Apollinaris on the far right. The central motif in the apse’s basin depicted the Resurrection of Christ, with the Marys at the Sepulchre on the left and John and Peter on the right.

Fragments of the ancient apse decoration, such as the full image of the praying Virgin and the heads of Saint Barbaziano, Saint Ursicino, Saint Peter, and Saint John, can now be found in the Archiepiscopal Museum of Ravenna. The style of the mosaics, characterized by small mouths, hieratic expressions, linear drapery, and parted hair, resembles those in the left chapel of the Cathedral of San Giusto in Trieste and the central apse of the Basilica of San Marco in Venice. These mosaics are attributed to Venetian craftsmen working in the late 11th century, though the use of Latin inscriptions instead of Greek is a notable difference.

The Current Cathedral

In March 1727, Maffeo Nicolò Farsetti was appointed Archbishop of Ravenna by Pope Benedict XIII. Farsetti envisioned the construction of a new cathedral in the modern Baroque style, replacing the old one. He entrusted the design to architect Giovan Francesco Buonamici from Rimini, who had previously worked with the archbishop. The design was inspired by the Roman church of Sant’Ignazio di Loyola in Campo Marzio, and after the approval of the project in January 1734, construction began on July 30 of the same year. A partial demolition of the old church marked the start of the work.

The construction continued after Farsetti’s death in February 1741, under his successor, Ferdinando Romualdo Guiccioli, and was completed in 1745 with the addition of a portico, which was not originally planned. The cathedral was opened for worship on April 14, 1745, but was not consecrated until April 13, 1749.

Despite being completed just a few decades earlier, by the 1770s the new cathedral began to show significant structural issues. Between 1772 and 1774, restoration work was carried out based on a design by Cosimo Morelli. Additionally, from 1780 to 1782, under Archbishop Antonio Cantoni, the original octagonal dome was replaced with a new elliptical dome, designed in a neoclassical style by Giuseppe Pistocchi of Faenza.

The demolition of the ancient cathedral and the loss of its rich mosaic decorations in favor of the new Baroque structure led to significant controversy. One notable critic was the architect and Camaldolese monk Paolo Soratini, who had initially collaborated with Buonamici on the cathedral’s construction but later objected to the destruction of the original church.