More mosaics, a tomb, and a palace

For my second day in Ravenna, I saw the remaining UNESCO sites, as well as the recently (well, within the past 20 years) discovered ruins of a Byzantine palace.

I began by going to the Basilica di Sant'Apollinare in Classe.  As the name suggests, this was located in a place called Classe, known as Classis in Roman times.  Back then, Ravenna was much closer to the water, and the nearby suburb of Classis acted as its port.  It's all silted up since then, but Classe is still a little ways from the center of the city, about 5km or so.  The basilica is the only thing that has survived from the ancient period, but if only one thing could survive I'm glad it was this.

The basilica.  It's been heavily modified over the years, but I'm not here for the outside anyway

Statue of Augustus

The church was built using an actual basilica plan, as opposed to every other ancient site I've visited on the trip so far.  In the Roman period, "basilica" didn't denote a church, but rather a particular style of building, namely one with a large center aisle and two (or more) side aisles.  By comparison, most of the churches I've seen thus far are octagonal, or follow a Greek cross plan.  Most Catholic churches in America are basilica style, if you cut off the side transepts at least.  As you can probably guess, the church is famous for the mosaics in the apse:

The imperial court

The hand of God, peeking through the clouds

Note the writing above and below the cross.  Translated, it reads "Jesus Christ, Son of God, Savior," and  "Refuge of the World."  There is also and Alpha and an Omega, on either side of the cross.

I actually did a report on this mosaic for Art History last year, and it was pretty awesome to get to see in person.  This is still a functioning church, and so I couldn't get way up close to the apse, but I think these shots give a pretty good idea of how impressive this is.

After a short bus ride I was back in the city center, and visiting a different church dedicated to Sant'Apollinare, the Basilica di Sant'Apollinare Nuovo (UNESCO site 7, if you're counting).

Also a traditional basilica-plan building

Why are there two churches dedicated to Sant'Apollinare?  He was the first bishop of Ravenna, traditionally believed to have been a disciple of St. Peter but now believed to have lived in the 3rd century.  Sant'Apollinare Nuovo is actually older than the other Sant'Apollinare, and I don't know why there is this disparity in the names (presumably there was a different Sant'Apollinare already within the city that is no longer extant).  Nuovo was built by the Ostrogothic king Theoderic, and later converted to an Orthodox church when Justinian took the city.  Most likely very little of the Arian interior remains, although there are a few little details that hint at it.

Procession of saints lining the nave.  Women on the left, men on the right

Imperial Palace (Palatium)

See those disembodied hands on the columns?  When this church was built, the original decoration included this palace, but instead of banners there were people in between the columns (most likely Arian saints).  Rather than destroy the original mosaic, the Orthodox just knocked out the figures and replaced them with fabric.  The columns (and hands) are Arian, but what lies between in Orthodox.  Some more shots:

Procession of male saints

Christ, flanked by angels

Hard to make out, but the very top level of mosaics is a series of scenes from the Bible.  This one (in the middle) is the sick man being lowered through the roof.

Notice how all the angels and saints are dressed as Roman senators, the main difference between them (other than the wings...) being the color of the stripe on their togas.  The saints have a purple stripe, as a senator would, while the angels have gold.

Next, I went to the Mausoleum of Theoderic (the king who built the previous church).  This was a bit removed from the city as well, although I didn't have to take a bus to get there.  This is the final UNESCO site in Ravenna.

The mausoleum.  The top is made from a single slab of marble, weighing over 300 tons.

A view from the top

A hint of some of the mausoleum's former decoration

Porphyry sarcophagus, which once held Theoderic's body

Originally the tomb would have been lavishly decorated, but the past 1500 years have seen it all stripped away.

Finally, I ended my day by looking at the ruins of a Byzantine palace or, more specifically, its floor.  When a local church was digging to expand its parking lot, they stumbled onto an ancient palace with stunning mosaics on the floor:

"The Good Shepherd"

"The 4 Seasons"

There had been a building here as far back as the Roman Republic, but these mosaics are thought to date from the 4th-6th centuries.

That's it for today!  I'm planning a day trip to Modena (accent on the "o") tomorrow.  It's the home of balsamic vinegar (apparently extremely different from what we get in the States) as well as Ferraris and Maseratis.  The region I'm currently in, Emilia-Romagna, is the food capital of Italy and so far all I've had are sandwiches; seems like it would be a crime not to have a proper meal, and I've decided Modena's the place to do it.  Questions in the comments!