Note 5 — ROMANESQUE ARCHITECTURE

Classis—Classe—was the port, perhaps the chief harbour of the Roman fleet, and was built by the Emperor Augustus. It was in the great days of Ravenna a vast port and arsenal, and possessed various important churches, of which the magnificent Basilica of S. Apollinare in Classe alone remains. Classis was joined to Ravenna by a long suburb, the Via Cæsarea, nearly three miles long; but Classis and Cæsarea have all disappeared, and the lonely Basilica of S. Apollinare stands now by itself in the marshes.

The sea, which once bathed the walls of Classis, has retreated some two miles, leaving what was once Classis empty and desolate. In the days of Ravenna’s glory and prosperity the three towns, Ravenna, the long suburb of Cæsarea, and the vast port of Classis, must have appeared as one great city.