Basilica of San Vitale
Sixth-century octagonal church in Ravenna, lined with Byzantine mosaics of Justinian and Theodora.
San Vitale was begun about 526 under Bishop Ecclesius, funded by the banker Julianus Argentarius, and consecrated in 547 when Ravenna had become the Byzantine capital in Italy. Instead of the usual basilica plan it takes an octagonal form, with an inner octagon of piers carrying a light clay-pot dome and an ambulatory and gallery around it. The design draws on Constantinopolitan models and later influenced Charlemagne's palace chapel at Aachen.
The presbytery holds one of the most complete surviving schemes of Byzantine mosaic, including the facing panels of the emperor Justinian with Bishop Maximian and the empress Theodora with her attendants, both made in the 540s. Above them are Old Testament scenes, the four evangelists and a beardless Christ seated on a globe. The church is one of eight buildings in Ravenna inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and entry is through a combined ticket covering several of them.
Highlights
- Octagonal plan with a dome built of interlocking clay pots
- Mosaic panels of Justinian and Theodora with their courts
- Apse mosaic of Christ enthroned between angels and saints
- Part of the UNESCO Early Christian Monuments of Ravenna
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