Il pavimento duecentesco di San Giovanni Evangelista a Ravenna. Nuove ricerche

The Basilica of San Giovanni Evangelista, the oldest existing in Ravenna, is a building in many ways still unknown. Built in the second quarter of the 5th century AD by the Augusta Galla Placidia, the basilica has undergone many changes to the original structure over the centuries. During the impressive reconstruction works, following the destructions of WWII, extensive archaeological investigations were conducted in the subsoil inside the structure, finding most of the 13th century mosaic floor; the latter, already partially found during the 18th century works, was torn from the original site and reduced to panels now hung on the interior walls of the church. During some recent surveys, aimed at creating a new and more precise planimetry of the entire complex, through the use of modern graphic documentation techniques, other panels were identified in the basilica’s cloister, relative to the 13th century floor, so far completely ignored. This find has shed new light on this medieval mosaic, the only one of its kind in the Ravenna area, offering the opportunity to elaborate a new reconstruction and interpretation of the entire mosaic layout.