a town of the Papal States, capital of a delegation of the same name, on the left bank of the Montone, 43 miles E. by S. of Bologna. It stood originally on the coast; but as early as the fifth century the alluvial deposits brought down by the Po had begun to encroach upon the sea, from which it is now about 4 miles distant. This space is now occupied by a portion of that celebrated pine forest, perhaps the most ancient in Italy, which covers the flat sandy ground along the Adriatic for about 25 miles. It furnished timber for the Roman fleets, and afterwards for those of Venice; and it has been rendered classic ground by the genius of Dante, Boccaccio, Dryden, and Byron. The town is inclosed by earthen ramparts about 3 miles in circuit, but it has miserably shrunk from its former dimensions; its palaces are deserted of their greatness, and grass grows in its broad and once busy streets. The cathedral, built by Orso, Archbishop of Ravenna, in the fourth century, has been rebuilt in modern times; so that the only relic of the original edifice is the cylindrical campanile, which resembles the Constantinopolitan minarets. In the interior there are, among other works of art, two of the finest of Guido's paintings. The baptistery, of an octagonal form, is of nearly the same date as the church, and is detached from it. It contains many well-preserved treasures of early Christian art. The basilica of San Vitale is a splendid octagonal building in the pure Byzantine style, after the model of St Sophia at Constantinople. It was consecrated in 547, and was imitated in the church of Charlemagne at Aix-la-Chapelle. Of the other churches in the town, many possess much interest from their antiquity, their architecture, or the paintings and sculptures which they contain. Indeed, it is at Ravenna that the early Christian monuments are to be seen in the greatest perfection; they are not, as in Rome, mixed with the remains of an earlier paganism; nor as in Constantinople, which in architecture this city much resembles, altered by the introduction of the Moslem religion and rule. Of the once splendid palace of Theodoric nothing now remains but a single wall, adorned with marble pillars. The mausoleum of the Gothic monarch, about a mile outside of the town, is a round marble edifice, with a solid dome weighing more than 200 tons. On its flat summit the urn with the royal ashes is said to have lain. The building, now a church, has been split by lightning, and sunk some feet in the earth. But the most celebrated tomb in Ravenna is that of Dante, whose ashes, inclosed in a marble sarcophagus, lie in a small square building surmounted by a cupola, and ornamented not with very good taste. Near this spot is the house where Byron lived for more than two years. Among the palaces of the town, the most interesting is that of the archbishop, the chapel of which has been preserved untouched from the fifth century. The public library contains upwards of 40,000 volumes and 700 MSS.; among the latter, is a celebrated one of Aristophanes, and an illuminated one of Dante on vellum. The museum and the academy of fine arts are both rich in their respective objects. There are also various private collections of paintings, a theatre, and other establishments. The only manufacture carried on here is that of silk, and this only to a very small extent. The trade too is almost extinct. The origin of Ravenna is lost in obscurity; it is said to have been a Thessalian colony, but was afterwards given over to the Umbrians, who retained possession of it till it was conquered by the Romans. What time this took place does not appear; the name is not mentioned till the time of the civil wars, when it seems to have been a place of much importance. In the time of Augustus it stood on the coast, in the midst of marshes, and was built on piles, intersected by canals; so that it must then have resembled the modern Venice. That monarch, making Ravenna the station of his Adriatic fleet, formed a harbour called Portus Classis, about 3 miles to the south, and connected it with the Po by a canal which passed through the town. From this epoch the station of the Roman fleet continued to be here, and the city rose to a great degree of prosperity, especially as a military post. In 404 Honorius established his residence here, and it was under him and his successors the imperial city of the West. Besides its strong position, the fortifications with which it was defended secured Ravenna against the attacks of the Goths for a considerable time. Theodoric, king of the East Goths, overthrew in 489 Odoacer, who had established himself there after the fall of the Western Empire, and made Ravenna the capital of a new kingdom. Fifty years later, Belisarius compelled the surrender of the city; and his successor Narses obtained the government of Italy, under the title of Exarch of Ravenna. This exarchate lasted for 185 years, till in 754 the Lombards, under Astolphus, driving out Eutichius, the last exarch, made Ravenna the metropolis of their kingdom. But their designs against Rome brought upon them the armies of Pepin and Charlemagne, who re-conquered Ravenna, and gave it as a temporal possession to the Papal See. Many civil wars and tumults took place in the subsequent ages; and in 1441 the people placed themselves under the protection of Venice. In 1509 Ravenna was restored to the Pope, and made the capital of the Romagna, governed by his legates. Shortly after, a French army under Gaston de Foix invaded Italy, and encountered the Spanish and Papal troops near Ravenna. One of the most bloody engagements recorded in history took place; the French were victorious, but their brave commander fell in a desperate assault on the retreating foe. Ravenna was once more taken from the Pope by the French in 1790, but afterwards restored. Pop. about 18,000.

The delegation, bounded on the N. by that of Ferrara, E. by the Adriatic, S. by the delegation of Forli, and W. by that of Bologna and by Tuscany, has an area of 674 square miles. The country slopes towards the N. and E. from the Apennines and their branches in the interior; and along the coast is marshy and unhealthy; though the inland portions are fertile and salubrious. Salt, corn, hemp, flax, wine, and cattle are the chief products of the country. Pop. (1853) 175,994.