| Ravnica | |
|---|---|
  Ravnica Location in Slovenia | |
| Coordinates: 45°58′53.18″N13°41′50.9″E / 45.9814389°N 13.697472°E | |
| Country |  |
| Traditional region | Slovenian Littoral |
| Statistical region | Gorizia |
| Municipality | Nova Gorica |
| Area | |
| • Total | 7.3 km2 (2.8 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 423 m (1,388 ft) |
| Population (2002) | |
| • Total | 225 |
| [1] | |
Ravnica (pronounced [ɾau̯ˈniːtsa] ; Italian : Raunizza) is a village in western Slovenia in the Municipality of Nova Gorica. It is located on the high Trnovo Forest Plateau (Slovene : Trnovski gozd), overlooking the villages of Grgar and Čepovan. [2]
Italian is a Romance language of the Indo-European language family. Italian, together with Sardinian, is by most measures the closest language to Vulgar Latin of the Romance languages. Italian is an official language in Italy, Switzerland, San Marino and Vatican City. It has an official minority status in western Istria. It formerly had official status in Albania, Malta, Monaco, Montenegro (Kotor) and Greece, and is generally understood in Corsica and Savoie. It also used to be an official language in the former Italian East Africa and Italian North Africa, where it plays a significant role in various sectors. Italian is also spoken by large expatriate communities in the Americas and Australia. Many speakers of Italian are native bilinguals of both standardized Italian and other regional languages.
A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town, with a population ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Though villages are often located in rural areas, the term urban village is also applied to certain urban neighborhoods. Villages are normally permanent, with fixed dwellings; however, transient villages can occur. Further, the dwellings of a village are fairly close to one another, not scattered broadly over the landscape, as a dispersed settlement.
Slovenia, officially the Republic of Slovenia, is a sovereign state located in southern Central Europe at a crossroads of important European cultural and trade routes. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, and the Adriatic Sea to the southwest. It covers 20,273 square kilometers (7,827 sq mi) and has a population of 2.07 million. One of the successor states of the former Yugoslavia, Slovenia is a parliamentary republic and a member of the United Nations, of the European Union, and of NATO. The capital and largest city is Ljubljana.
The parish church in the settlement is dedicated to Saints Hermagoras and Fortunatus and belongs to the Diocese of Koper. [3]
A parish church in Christianity is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in community activities, often allowing its premises to be used for non-religious community events. The church building reflects this status, and there is considerable variety in the size and style of parish churches. Many villages in Europe have churches that date back to the Middle Ages, but all periods of architecture are represented.
Saint Hermagoras of Aquileia is considered the first bishop of Aquileia, northern Italy. Christian tradition states that he was chosen by Saint Mark to serve as the leader of the nascent Christian community in Aquileia, and that he was consecrated bishop by Saint Peter. Hermagoras and his deacon Fortunatus evangelized the area but were eventually arrested by Sebastius, a representative of Nero. They were tortured and beheaded.
The word diocese is derived from the Greek term dioikesis (διοίκησις) meaning "administration". Today, when used in an ecclesiastical sense, it refers to the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop.
