In Ravenna, near the railway station, stands the Basilica of San Giovanni Evangelista, built in the first half of the 5th century by the will of Empress Galla Placidia. Tradition holds that, during the sea journey undertaken from Constantinople, the imperial fleet, taking the young Emperor Valentinian III and his mother Galla Placidia to Ravenna, encountered a severe storm. The empress mother, overwhelmed with despair, vowed to erect a church dedicated to the Apostle Saint John, the patron saint of sailors, in case she and her son escaped the terrible circumstance.
Upon safely reaching Ravenna, the fleet landed at the Coriander port, near which the church dedicated to San Giovanni Evangelista was later built.
The building was adorned with marvelous mosaics, now lost, but traceable in historical sources. The solemn representation depicted the Redeemer at the center of the triumphal arch, accompanied by Saint John, and on the sides, two scenes of the shipwreck averted. Below, along the extrados of the apse, were images of ten emperors from the Theodosian dynasty. In the center of the apse was Christ enthroned, and descending were the symbols of the evangelists under which were two other imperial couples from the family of Galla Placidia.
The mosaic decoration of the apse likely also contained the dedicatory inscription that testified to the fulfillment of the vow made by the empress. The Latin text read: To the holy and most blessed Apostle John the Evangelist, the Augusta Galla Placidia, with her son, the August Placid Valentinian, and her daughter, the Augusta Giusta Grata Onoria, fulfill the vow for deliverance from the danger of the sea.
Over the centuries, the church of San Giovanni Evangelista has undergone a series of transformations and renovations, including being bombed during the Second World War. The reconstruction of the building, initiated in the aftermath of the conflict, lasted for several years. During the intervention, some parts of the structure of the ancient basilica were rebuilt, and the fourteenth-century Gothic portal was restored, which depicts another episode related to the foundation of the basilica. Tradition has it that Galla Placidia, on the night before the consecration of the church, saw the incorporeal figure of the saint, before whom the empress did not hesitate to prostrate herself. As the image vanished, legend has it that one of the saint’s sandals remained in the hands of the empress, later introduced into the church as a relic. This episode is represented on the portal that leads into the church.
During some eighteenth-century works, some mosaic floors dating back to the thirteenth century emerged, which are now displayed along the walls of the church. These mosaics feature interesting medieval iconography, including documentation of the Fourth Crusade, as well as other subjects such as courtly love scenes, and a variety of animals and mythical creatures, including the unicorn, the griffin, and the two-tailed mermaid.
Additionally, on the counter-façade, there is a seventeenth-century work by the Ferrarese artist Carlo Bononi, originally created for the refectory of the monastery then governed by the congregation of the regular canons of San Salvatore. The large painting depicts a scene from the Old Testament, the Feast of Esther, from the Book of Esther.
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