A few steps away from Dante’s Tomb, RavennAntica returns to public use one of the most beautiful and evocative corners of our city: the Rasponi Crypt and the Hanging Gardens of the Palazzo della Provincia.
Access to the crypt and the garden with its beautiful fountain is from the monumental portico on the south side of Piazza San Francesco.
The crypt – actually a small aristocratic chapel never intended for the deceased of the Rasponi family – is the oldest preserved part of the architectural complex of Palazzo Rasponi, probably dating back to the end of the 18th century.
The crypt is made up of three rooms: the entrance is at the base of a neo-gothic turret; in one room there is a beautiful stone ball with the inscription SIC VITA PENDET AB ALTO; the presbytery is destined to house a small altar for religious services.
The most significant part of the crypt is the mosaic floor, consisting of an assemblage of various fragments arranged in a random manner. The floor comes from Classe, probably from the church of San Severo (6th century) and features ornamental motifs and figures of animals – hens, ducks, geese, ram’s heads and snakes – caught in spontaneous attitudes and enlivened by the use of enamels that enhance the chromatic richness.
The garden, enriched by a beautiful fountain, has a neo-Gothic tower in the centre and a hanging part.
Leaving the crypt, climb the stairs to the belvedere overlooking Piazza San Francesco. This is a hanging garden from which it is possible to go to the adjoining terrace above the vault, built in 1839, which served to connect Palazzo Rasponi to the stables and warehouses.
