The relationship between Ravenna and the sea is like a deep intimate breathe which has been enduring since the birth of our city; a play of forces where man-made landscape and nature often manage to splendidly live side by side, balancing each other out, while at other times they are prevailed upon. Through these shots, I wish to celebrate the Harbour and the Seaside, two unchangeable icons of life in Ravenna, with a view to rediscovering the surroundings and #travellingaroundthecorner.
Francesco Antonelli was born and raised in Ravenna. His passion for travels and tourism was the motivation behind his becoming a tour guide, now working everywhere in Emilia-Romagna.
He does not conform to any specific style or approach in photography, but he prefers the social networks.
His shots range from reportage to naturalistic photography, while they focus on a search for the purity of shapes, and the balance between Man and Nature.
The port
It is since 27 B.C., when the emperor Octavian established the Roman fleet in Classe, that the name of Ravenna has been going through all the ports of the Mediterranean Sea. A thin line of water goes up the canal joining the open sea to the city center. On this path it crosses unique scenarios. The Piallassa Piomboni for example, which connects the territory to a wider system of inland and lagoon waters that are part of the Po Delta Park. And the towns of Marina di Ravenna and Porto Corsini, whose life is closely linked to the Port. Here the relationship beetween man and the water element is transformed into profession, work, cooking, pleasure.
The beach
“Pietro Damiano there was I y-clept: Pietro the sinner, when before I dwelt, beside the Adriatic, in the house of our blest Lady.” Paradise, Canto XXI.
With these words Dante makes our illustrious fellow citizen, San Pier Damiani speak; locating him in the Church of Santa Maria in Porto on the “Adriatic coast”. The relationship beetween the Ravenna people and the sea is closely linked to that long strip of sand that makes up the seaside: so that “going to the sea” actually means “going to the beach”. Our coast is protected by a wonderful system of active dunes with an unique flora, and by a line of pine forest, also celebrated by the Supreme Poet, where you can play sports and take walks. Over time, the beach has also become synonymous with that Romagna hospitality so much appreciated by tourists, Italians and foreigners. Between umbrellas and parties, the beach lives its ritual every year. Lively in summer, intimate and melancholy in winter.
