San Vitale in Ravenna was built during the reign of Justinian. Justinian was
the Emperor of the Byzantine Empire (The Eastern Roman Empire). He tried to
reestablish the empire in Italy during his reign, and Ravenna was his
Western Capital. Though he never visited the church, mosaics of both
Justinian and his queen Isabella Decorate the apse.
San Vitale is a centrally planed church, meaning in plan it is in the shape
of a Greek cross (4 equal sides) and not a Latin Cross (3 equal sides and
the fourth much longer than the rest). The church, like many other churches,
has a dome at the intersection of the two arms of the cross.
Mosaic in the apse behind the alter of San Vitale. That is Jesus sitting on the world. Angels are to either side and on the far right is a
Bishop (or other high ranking religious official) presenting Jesus with a
model of San Vitale. The church is decorated with both Roman and Byzantine
mosaics. Though earlier, Roman mosaics are more literally, more true to the
way we see the world-there are fore and backgrounds, people are more
dynamic. Byzantine mosaics were more representational in an effort to be
more symbolic. For example, in the Byzantine mosaic on the right side of
the picture, the figures beside Justinian's Queen Isabella, are standing on
each other's feet because their is no ground plane or representation of depth
(you cannot see it in this particular picture).
I (electronically) pasted two photographs together to get this picture, kind of neat.
I really liked the buttresses of San Vitale.
I really liked the buttresses of San Vitale.
I really liked the buttresses of San Vitale.
The mausoleum of the wife of a king, built on the grounds of San Vitale. Not so much to look at on the outside...
Mosiacs from the interior of the mausoleum. (A bit fuzzy because I did not use a flash)
(Clearly not a Professional Photograph)
I was told that this is Alabaster. The may have put an artificial light
source behind it to make it look more impressive, but the fact that light
passes through it is pretty dang cool, even if they are faking it a bit.
