Most people who travel to Ravenna are travelling into the past.
The city is one of Europe’s great artistic treasure houses. Early Christian churches, breathtaking Byzantine mosaics, the Mausoleum of Galla Placidia, San Vitale, Sant’Apollinare Nuovo and Sant’Apollinare in Classe – few places offer such a direct encounter with a world that flourished fifteen centuries ago and still retains its power to astonish. Even Dante chose Ravenna as his final resting place.
It would be easy to assume that Ravenna is primarily a city of memory, a place whose greatest artistic achievements belong to another age.
That impression, however, would be misleading.
Alongside its world-famous monuments, Ravenna possesses a lively contemporary art scene. Museums, exhibitions and smaller galleries demonstrate that artistic life here did not come to an end with the Byzantine Empire.
While my wife explored the nearby shops – an activity for which I continue to display a remarkable lack of talent – I found myself drawn into a small gallery we had discovered almost by accident: the Ravenna Art Gallery, located at Via IV Novembre 23/D, tucked away in a quiet courtyard in the historic centre.
Calling it small is almost an understatement. It is probably one of the smallest galleries I have ever visited. The surprise, therefore, was all the greater upon stepping inside.
The works on display came from a variety of artists working in different media and exploring very different themes. Yet there was a clear curatorial vision behind the exhibition. Above all, the quality of the work was striking. In a gallery of this size one might expect local hobby art or pleasant decoration. Instead, I encountered works that would not have looked out of place in institutions many times larger.
What made the visit especially memorable was the reception. Rather than the atmosphere of reverence and distance that sometimes surrounds contemporary art, I was welcomed with warmth, genuine interest and generosity. What began as a brief visit soon turned into a longer conversation about art, artists, exhibitions and the continuing importance of small galleries in a world that seems to value everything according to scale.
Places like this remind us that art does not live exclusively in museums, major institutions or international art fairs. Often it is the smaller galleries that take risks, introduce new voices and create opportunities for conversations that simply would not happen elsewhere.
Visitors to Ravenna should certainly devote time to its famous mosaics. They are among the wonders of Europe. Yet it is equally worthwhile to spend some time exploring the city’s contemporary artistic life.
The Ravenna Art Gallery may be small. That is part of its charm. More importantly, it serves as a reminder that quality and size are not necessarily related.
It is, without question, well worth a visit.