Ravenna Cathedral or Metropolitan Cathedral of the Resurrection of Our Lord Jesus Christ () is a
Roman Catholic
The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...
cathedral
A cathedral is a church (building), church that contains the of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, Annual conferences within Methodism, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually s ...
dedicated to the
Resurrection of Jesus Christ in the city of
Ravenna
Ravenna ( ; , also ; ) is the capital city of the Province of Ravenna, in the Emilia-Romagna region of Northern Italy. It was the capital city of the Western Roman Empire during the 5th century until its Fall of Rome, collapse in 476, after which ...
, Italy. Formerly the archiepiscopal seat of the
Archdiocese of Ravenna, it is now the seat of the
archbishops of Ravenna-Cervia.
It was granted the status of a
minor basilica
Basilicas are Catholic church buildings that have a designation, conferring special privileges, given by the Pope. Basilicas are distinguished for ceremonial purposes from other churches. The building need not be a basilica in the architectura ...
by
Pope John XXIII
Pope John XXIII (born Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli; 25 November 18813 June 1963) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 28 October 1958 until his death on 3 June 1963. He is the most recent pope to take ...
on 7 October 1960. It is the seat of the parish of San Giovanni in Fonte belonging to the Urban Vicariate of the archdiocese of Ravenna-Cervia.
History
The original cathedral was built during the early 5th century by the bishop
Ursus of Ravenna and was originally called the Basilica Ursiana.
During the
Battle of Ravenna in April 1512, the basilica was sacked. In the 18th century, it was rebuilt in the
Baroque
The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...
style. The cathedral houses the sarcophagi of
Maximianus of Ravenna, Exuperantius of Ravenna, and Barbatianus of Ravenna and once housed the
Throne of Maximian.
On the top of the belltower there are four bells in chord of D minor.
References
Roman Catholic churches in Ravenna
18th-century churches in Italy
Roman Catholic cathedrals in Italy
Basilica churches in Ravenna
Cathedrals in Emilia-Romagna
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