Everything about Basilica Of San Vitale totally explained
» For the eponymous basilica in Rome, see Basilica of San Vitale (Rome).
The
Church or Basilica of San Vitale— styled an "
ecclesiastical basilica" in the Roman Catholic Church, though it isn't of
architectural basilica form— is the most famous monument of
Ravenna,
Italy and is one of the most important examples of
Byzantine Art and architecture in
western Europe. The building is one of eight Ravenna structures inscribed on the
UNESCO World Heritage List.
The church was begun by Bishop Ecclesius in 527, when Ravenna was under the rule of the
Ostrogoths, and completed by the 27th Bishop of Ravenna,
Maximian in 548 during the Byzantine
Exarchate of Ravenna. The architect of this church is unknown, but he was certainly among the best architects of his time.
The church has an octagonal plan. The building combines
Roman elements (the dome, shape of doorways, stepped towers) with Byzantine (polygonal apse, capitals, narrow bricks, etc). However, the church is most famous for its wealth of Byzantine
mosaics, the largest and best preserved outside of
Constantinople itself. The church is of extreme importance in Byzantine art, as it's the only major church from the period of
Emperor Justinian to survive virtually intact to the present day; furthermore, it's thought to reflect the design of the Byzantine Imperial Palace Audience Chamber, of which nothing at all survives.
According to legend, the church was erected on the site of the martyrdom of
Saint Vitalis. However, there's some confusion as to whether this is the Saint
Vitalis of Milan, or the
Saint Vitale whose body was discovered together with that of
Saint Agricola, by
Saint Ambrose in
Bologna in
393.
The construction of the church was sponsored by a Greek banker,
Iulianus Argentarius, of whom very little is known, except that he also sponsored the construction of the
Basilica of Sant' Apollinare in Classe at around the same time. The final cost amounted to 26,000 gold pieces. The true sponsor may have been the Byzantine Emperor, who used such church construction projects as
propaganda and as a way of speeding the incorporation of new territory into the Empire.
The central section is surrounded by two superposed
ambulatories. The upper one, the
matrimoneum, was reserved for married women. A series of mosaics in the lunettes above the
triforia, depict sacrifices from the Old Testament : the story of
Abraham and
Melchizedek, and the Sacrifice of
Isaac; the story of
Moses and the
Burning Bush,
Jeremiah and
Isaiah, representatives of the twelve tribes of Israel, and the story of
Abel and
Cain. A pair of angels, holding a medallion with a cross, crowns each lunette. On the side walls the corners, next to the mullioned windows, have mosaics of the
Four Evangelists, under their symbols (angel, lion, bull and eagle), and dressed in white. Especially the portrayal of the lion is remarkable in its feral ferocity.
The cross-ribbed vault in the
presbytery is richly ornamented with mosaic festoons of leaves, fruit and flowers, converging on a crown encircling the
Lamb of God. The crown is supported by four
angels, and every surface is covered with a profusion of flowers, stars, birds and animals, including many
peacocks. Above the arch, on both sides, two angels hold a disc and beside them a representation of the cities of Jerusalem and Bethlehem. They symbolize the human race (Jerusalem representing the Jews, and Bethlehem the Gentiles).
All these mosaics are executed in the Hellenistic-Roman tradition : lively and imaginative, with rich colours and a certain perspective, and with a vivid depiction of the landscape, plants and birds. They were finished when Ravenna was still under Gothic rule.
The apse is flanked by two chapels, the
prothesis and the
diaconicon, typical for Byzantine architecture.
Inside, the intrados of the great
triumphal arch is decorated with fifteen mosaic medallions, depicting
Jesus Christ, the twelve
Apostles and
Saint Gervasius and
Saint Protasius, the sons of Saint Vitale.
The
theophany was began in 525 under bishop Ecclesius. It has a great gold fascia with twining flowers, birds, and horns of plenty. Jesus Christ appears, seated on a blue globe in the summit of the vault, robed in purple, with his right hand offering the martyr's crown to Saint Vitale. On the left, Bishop Ecclesius offers a model of the church.
At the foot of the
apse side walls are two famous mosaic panels, executed in 548. On the left is a mosaic depicting the Emperor Justinian, clad in purple with a golden halo, standing next to court officials, Bishop Maximian, praetorian guards and deacons. The halo around his head gives him the same aspect as Christ in the dome of the apse. Justinian himself stands in the middle, with soldiers on his left and clergy on this right, emphasizing that Justinian is the leader of both church and state of his empire. He also holds a
paten and is shown with a 3 day beard to show that too busy to shave since he's performing his duties as emperor. The gold background of the mosaic shows that Justinian and his entourage are inside the church and gives off an otherworldly,spiritual vibe. The figures are placed in a V shape; Justinian is placed in the front and in the middle to show his importance with Bishop Maximian on his left and lesser individuals being placed behind them. This placement can be seen through the overlapping feet of the individuals present in the mosaic.
On the right side is
Empress Theodora solemn and formal, with golden halo, crown and jewels, and a train of court ladies. She is almost depicted as a goddess. As opposed to the V formation of the figures in the Justinian mosaic, the mosaic with Empress Theodora shows the figures moving from left to right into the church. Theodora is seen holding the wine. These panels are almost the only surviving examples of Byzantine secular mosaic art, and offer a glimpse into the glory, splendor and pomp of the Byzantine world.
The Church of San Vitale inspired the design of the church of the
Saints Sergius and Bacchus in
Constantinople, then was the model used by
Charlemagne for his
Palatine Chapel in Aachen in 805, and centuries later its dome was the inspiration for Filippo
Brunelleschi in the design for the dome of the
Duomo of Florence.
Gallery
Image:Meister von San Vitale in Ravenna 002.jpg|Choir mosaics
Image:Meister von San Vitale in Ravenna 003.jpg|Emperor Justinian and his retinue
Image:Theodora mosaik ravenna.jpg|Empress Theodora and her retinue
Image:Meister von San Vitale in Ravenna 004.jpg|Emperor Justinian
Image:Meister von San Vitale in Ravenna 005.jpg|Bishop Maximian
Image:Meister von San Vitale in Ravenna 007.jpg|Lady in Waiting
Image:Meister von San Vitale in Ravenna 008.jpg|Empress Theodora
Image:Meister von San Vitale in Ravenna 009.jpg|Choir mosaics
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