Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume XIV.djvu/235

 KAVEN RAVENNA 219 well adapted for tearing flesh as is that of ra- pacious birds ; though wary and distrustful, it is docile and affectionate when domesticated ; it has an excellent memory, and a decidedly thievish disposition. The color is black, with steel-blue and purplish or violet reflections; Baven (Corvus corax). its form is symmetrical and its proportions are fine. It is proverbially long-lived, and has been known to attain the age of about 100 years ; it is spread extensively over Europe, and allied species are found in Africa and Asia. It is voracious and omnivorous, but particularly fond of carrion, whether of flesh, fish, or fowl, dead from disease or accident; it will attack an animal of the size of a sheep if it is helpless or dying ; it is said to destroy young lambs, and certainly makes great havoc among half-grown hares and rabbits, young and full-fledged birds, and eggs; when it finds a carcass the first attack is upon the eyes and tongue, and then upon the abdomen to drag out the intestines ; in autumn it sometimes com- mits serious depredations upon barley fields. The flight is at times very high, which ena- bles them to follow any companions which have chanced to spy their favorite food ; this explains the rapid collecting of a large number in a short time ; they have no special acuteness of smell, but are guided to their food by the sense of sight; the voice is a harsh and dis- agreeable croak. They are usually seen alone or in pairs, except when drawn together by a large carcass in the field or on the shore; the nest is made in lofty trees or in holes of inac- cessible cliffs, and the same one is used year after year ; a fetid odor issues from the body, probably on account of their carrion food. Farmers and shepherds like to have them breed on their premises, as they keep off eagles, cats, dogs, &c. This was considered a bird of ill omen by the ancients, and its movements were watched by the augurs with great attention ; and it has been generally looked upon with superstitious fears, on account of its black hue, mournful croak, fetid odor, and disgust- ing habits. It by preference inhabits the most desolate places. In America, where the crow abounds, as about Lake Superior, the raven is very rarely seen, and vice versa. RAVEMA. I. A N. E. province of Italy, in Emilia, bordering on the Adriatic, Ferrara, Bologna, Florence, and Forli ; area, 742 sq. m. ; pop. in 1872, 221,115. It is mountainous, es- pecially in the south, and is traversed by the Savio, Santerno, and many other streams. The principal products are rice, grain, hemp, flax, and pine, anise, and coriander seeds. It com- prises the former papal legation of Ravenna, excepting the district of Iinola, which has been added to Bologna, but including that of Lugo, taken from Ferrara; the other two districts are Ravenna and Faenza. II. A city, capital of the province, in a marshy plain on the river Montone, near the Adriatic, and 173 m. N". of Rome; pop. in 1872, 58,904. The principal buildings are the cathedral, of the 4th century, with fine pictures by Guido Reni ; the church of Santa Maria della Rotonda, formerly the mausoleum of Theodoric, king of the Ostro- goths, N. of the city proper; the basilica of San Vitale, remarkable chiefly for its splendid mosaics ; the churches of St. John the Baptist and St. John the Evangelist, built early in the 5th century by the empress Galla Placidia ; and the remains of the palace of Theodosius, occupied after him by the exarchs. Among the many historical curiosities is the tomb of Dante, who died here. (See DANTE, vol. v., p. 672.) Ravenna is the seat of an archbishop, and has many convents, a museum, library, and academy of fine arts. The chief pursuits are the culture of the vine and the rearing of silk- worms, with the spinning and weaving of silk. The town was once situated on the Adriatic in the midst of marshes, but it is now some dis- tance from the sea, and separated from it by the Pineta, a remarkable forest of pines ex- tending for many miles along the coast. The city appears to have been founded by the Um- brians. It is not mentioned in history until a late period of the Roman republic, but during the later civil wars it held a prominent posi- tion. Augustus raised it to still greater im- portance by building a new port called Portus Classis, or simply Classis, capable of contain- ing 250 ships of war, and making it the station of the fleet guarding the Adriatic. Its natural strength contributed to render it an important military post, and in A, D. 404 Honorius made it the imperial abode. On the fall of the west- ern empire it became the capital of the Gothic kings, and it was subsequently the residence of the exarchs of the Byzantine emperors, and the whole province under their jurisdiction was called the exarchate of Ravenna. The city itself remained in the possession of the Greek emperors until taken by Luitprand, king of the Lombards, in 728, and again, after a re-