Editing Ravenna (section)

===Middle Ages and Renaissance===
The [[Lombards]], under [[King Liutprand]], occupied Ravenna in 712, but were forced to return it to the Byzantines.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Noble |first1=Thomas F. X. |title=The Republic of St. Peter: The Birth of the Papal State, 680–825. |url=https://archive.org/details/republicofstpete0000nobl |url-access=registration |date=1984 |publisher=University of Pennsylvania Press. |location=Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |isbn=0-8122-1239-8}}</ref> Shortly after [[Aistulf]], the Lombard Duke of Friuli, was crowned King of the Lombards in 749, he pursued an aggressive policy of expansion into the Byzantine’s Exarchate of Ravenna and the territory claimed by the Pope through the Patrimony of Saint Peter.<ref>{{cite book |editor1-last=Gwatkin |editor1-first=Henry Melvill |editor2-last=Whitney |editor2-first=James Pounder |title=The Cambridge Medieval History, Volume II |date=1913 |publisher=Macmillan Company |location=New York |page=215 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7Zfh20mwPuoC&dq=Grimoald%2C+King+of+the+Lombards&q=Cambridge#v=snippet&q=Cambridge&f=false |access-date=29 March 2025}}</ref> 

In 751, the Byzantines surrendered the Exarchate of Ravenna to Aistulf. Aistulf then proceeded farther south and threated Rome claiming jurisdiction and demanding tribute and acknowledgement of his sovereignty. [[Pope Stephen II]] appealed to Aistulf but to no avail. In 753, Pope Stephen traveled to France to seek the help of [[Pepin the Short|Pepin, King of the Franks]]. Pepin responded favorably and ultimately conducted two campaigns to the Italian Peninsula to confront Aistulf with respect to territory that had been taken illegally.<ref>{{cite book |editor1-last=Gwatkin |editor1-first=Henry Melvill |editor2-last=Whitney |editor2-first=James Pounder |title=The Cambridge Medieval History, Volume II |date=1913 |publisher=Macmillan Company |location=New York |pages=215-217 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7Zfh20mwPuoC&dq=Grimoald%2C+King+of+the+Lombards&q=Cambridge#v=snippet&q=Cambridge&f=false |access-date=29 March 2025}}</ref> 

Finally in 756, Aistulf conceded defeat, and agreed to pay reparations and surrender the territory taken five years earlier. At that time, Pepin fulfilled a promise that he had made two years prior in France and granted the pope the right to large territories that included the former Exarchate of Ravenna and the Roman duchy. This act has become known as the [[Donation of Pepin]] and provided the legal basis for the creation of the [[Papal States]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Donation of Pippin |url=https://www.britannica.com/event/Donation-of-Pippin |website=Britannica |publisher=Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc |access-date=29 March 2025 |date=2025}}</ref>

After Pepin’s Donation and the establishment of the Papal States, Byzantine-era administrative structures collapsed during the 9th and 10th Centuries. Papal control was indirect, with local dukes and Lombard lords exercising de facto power. During the 11th and 12th Centuries, Ravenna became a contested city between the Holy Roman Empire and the Papacy, with imperial appointees often clashing with papal legates. 

The beginning of the 13th Century was a period of great turmoil for the city of Ravenna. At that time, conflict between the [[Guelphs and Ghibellines]] was intensifying. In 1198, Ravenna led a league of [[Romagna]] cities and Marches against the Holy Roman Emperor, Otto IV. Pope Innocent III was able to capitalized on the anti-imperial sentiment in Romagna to strengthen papal influence over Ravenna and other cities in the region.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Benigni |first1=U |title=Archdiocese of Ravenna |url=https://www.catholic.com/encyclopedia/archdiocese-of-ravenna |website=Catholic Answers |publisher=Catholic Answers |access-date=31 March 2025 |date=2025 |archive-date=31 March 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250331210801/https://www.catholic.com/encyclopedia/archdiocese-of-ravenna |url-status=live }}</ref> 

In 1218, Pietro [[Traversari]] came to power in Ravenna after defeating the Ubertini and Mainardi factions during the Guelph-Ghibelline conflict. The Traversari family ruled Ravenna for 22 years until 1240 when Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II besieged Ravenna and expelled the Traversari after the Traversari aligned themselves with the pro-papal Guelphs.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Benigni |first1=U |title=Archdiocese of Ravenna |url=https://www.catholic.com/encyclopedia/archdiocese-of-ravenna |website=Catholic Answers |publisher=Catholic Answers |access-date=31 March 2025 |date=2025}}</ref> 

Frederick’s Imperial Vicar ruled Ravenna for eight years until 1248 when Pope Innocent IV took Ravenna, and the Traversari returned to power. In 1275, the Traversari were driven from the city by Guido Novello da Polenta. The [[Da Polenta]] family established a hereditary lordship and governed with increasing independence as a papal vassal.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Benigni |first1=U |title=Archdiocese of Ravenna |url=https://www.catholic.com/encyclopedia/archdiocese-of-ravenna |website=Catholic Answers |publisher=Catholic Answers |access-date=31 March 2025 |date=2025 |archive-date=31 March 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250331210801/https://www.catholic.com/encyclopedia/archdiocese-of-ravenna |url-status=live }}</ref>  

One of the most illustrious residents of Ravenna at this time was the exiled Florentine poet [[Dante]]. The last of the Da Polenta, [[Ostasio III da Polenta|Ostasio III]], was ousted by the [[Republic of Venice]] in February 1441, and the city was annexed to the Venetian territories by the [[Treaty of Cremona (1441)|Treaty of Cremona]].

Ravenna was then ruled by Venice until 1509, when the region was invaded in the course of the [[War of the League of Cambrai]]. At the [[Battle of Agnadello]] on 14 May, the French largely destroyed the Venetian army. Thereafter, the members of the League of Cambrai occupied Venice's mainland territories. After the Venetian withdrawal, Ravenna was again ruled by legates of the Pope as part of the Papal States. The Papal States retained control of Ravenna as the war continued, however in 1511, the Pope created a new alliance with Spain and the Holy Roman Empire against France. In the conflict that ensued, France besieged Ravenna and then decisively defeated the League's relief forces at the [[Battle of Ravenna (1512)]]. After that victory, the French sacked Ravenna and occupied the city for four months before withdrawing. 

In 1527, notwithstanding their alliance with Pope Clement VII, the Venetians occupied Ravenna and the Romagna, which, however, they were compelled to restore in 1529.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Benigni |first1=U |title=Archdiocese of Ravenna |url=https://www.catholic.com/encyclopedia/archdiocese-of-ravenna |website=Catholic Answers |publisher=Catholic Answers |access-date=31 March 2025 |date=2025 |archive-date=31 March 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250331210801/https://www.catholic.com/encyclopedia/archdiocese-of-ravenna |url-status=live }}</ref>  

The city was damaged in a tremendous flood in May 1636. Over the next 300 years, a network of [[canals]] diverted nearby rivers and drained nearby swamps, thus reducing the possibility of flooding and creating a large belt of agricultural land around the city.
[[File:Ravenna quattrino.jpg|thumb|An 18th-century [[quattrino]] from Ravenna depicting [[Apollinaris of Ravenna|Saint Apollinaris]]]]