Ravenna’s name is apparently of Etruscan origin. However the city made its name in history in I B .C., when Julius Caesar chose it as his headquarters when he was trying to obtain an extension to his command in Gaul. Later the Emperor Octavius Augustus had port of Classe built for the city, supplying it with a fleet of 250 ships to ensure the defence of the Adriatic and the seas of the nearby East. Ravenna thus developed into an extremely important city.
After the fall of the Roman Empire of the West, Ravenna continued to be the headquarters of the exarchate until the revolt of 727. Following this, the Frankish King Pippin the Short decided that the city should pass into the hands of the Papacy and so it remained for several centuries. The first Great War in 1512 transformed the city into a theatre of destruction and blood. After its temporary dominion under Napoleon, Ravenna once more returned to being a Papal State until 1859, when it was annexed to Piedmont. It then took part in the fight for the Unity of Italy in 1861. Ravenna fought fiercely against the Fascist regime during the Second World War, and was later awarded a Gold Medal for military valour.