Chiesa di Sant'Eufemia

Sant'Eufemia is Ravenna's eighteenth-century rotunda on Via Barbiani — and more than a church. Since 2002 its interior has served as the entrance hall to the Domus dei Tappeti di Pietra, the Roman and Byzantine floor mosaics found beneath the neighbourhood. A bell cast in 1358, an altarpiece by Burrini and a legendary baptismal well are among its historic features.

Why it matters

Local tradition identifies Sant'Eufemia as Ravenna's earliest church and associates it with Sant'Apollinare and relics of Saint Euphemia brought from Aquileia. The late-Baroque building stands over an earlier three-nave structure of uncertain date.

What to notice

The circular plan holds three altars, and one of them covers the ancient well from which, by tradition, Sant'Apollinare drew baptismal water; a well inscription from the 1700s proclaims Coepit hic Fides ravennatium — here began the faith of the people of Ravenna. Behind the main altar hangs Antonio Burrini's painting of 1686 showing the death of the saint, commissioned after the discovery of her relics alongside those of Sant'Agata. Side chapels and the sacristy carry eighteenth-century canvases by Andrea Barbiani and Giovanni Capaci, and the small bell tower rings one of the city's oldest bells, in use since its forging in 1358.

Context and history

The present church was built in 1742-1747 in late Baroque style to a design by the Rimini architect Giovanfrancesco Buonamici. In October 2002 the Domus dei Tappeti di Pietra, a Roman-to-Byzantine complex of marble and mosaic floors discovered during construction works, became associated with the church interior.