then the Franks overtook it. During Justinian’s reign, Ravenna en-
joyed its greatest cultural and economic prosperity—at a time when
repeated sieges, conquests, and sackings threatened the “eternal city”
of Rome with extinction. As the seat of Byzantine dominion in Italy,
Ravenna and its culture became an extension of Constantinople. Its
art, even more than that of the Byzantine capital (where little other
than architecture has survived), clearly reveals the transition from
the Early Christian to the Byzantine style.
SAN VITALESan Vitale (FIGS. 12-6and 12-7), dedicated by
Bishop Maximianus in 547 in honor of Saint Vitalis, who was martyred
at Ravenna in the second century, is the most spectacular building
in Ravenna. The church is an unforgettable experience for all who
have entered it and marveled at its intricate design and magnificent
golden mosaics. Construction of San Vitale began under Bishop Ec-
clesius shortly after Theodoric’s death in 526. Julianus Argentarius
(Julian the Banker) provided the 26,000 gold coins (weighing more
than 350 pounds) required to proceed with the work. The church is
unlike any of the other sixth-century churches of Ravenna (FIG. 11-17).
Indeed, it is unlike any other church in Italy. San Vitale is not a basil-
ica. It is centrally planned, like Justinian’s churches in Constantino-
ple, and it seems, in fact, to have been loosely modeled on the earlier
Church of Saints Sergius and Bacchus there.
The design features two concentric octagons. The dome-covered
inner octagon rises above the surrounding octagon to provide the in-
terior with clerestory lighting. The central space is defined by eight
large piers that alternate with curved, columned exedrae that push
outward into the surrounding two-story ambulatory and create, on
the plan, an intricate leafed design (FIG. 12-7). The exedrae closely in-
tegrate the inner and outer spaces that otherwise would have existed
simply side by side as independent units. A cross-vaulted choir pre-
ceding the apse interrupts the ambulatory and gives the plan some
axial stability. Weakening this effect, however, is the off-axis place-
ment of the narthex, whose odd angle never has been explained fully.
(The atrium, which no longer exists, may have paralleled a street that
ran in the same direction as the angle of the narthex.)
San Vitale’s intricate plan and elevation combine to produce an
effect of great complexity. The exterior’s octagonal regularity is not
readily apparent inside (FIG. 12-8). A rich diversity of ever-changing
perspectives greets visitors walking through the building. Arches
looping over arches, curving and flattened spaces, and wall and vault
shapes seem to change constantly with the viewer’s position. Light
filtered through alabaster-paned windows plays over the glittering
mosaics and glowing marbles that cover the building’s complex sur-
faces, producing a sumptuous effect.
The mosaics that decorate San Vitale’s choir and apse (FIG. 12-9),
like the building itself, must be regarded as among the most climactic
achievements of Byzantine art. Completed less than a decade after the
Ostrogoths surrendered Ravenna, the apse and choir decorations
form a unified composition, whose theme is the holy ratification of
Justinian’s right to rule.
In the apse vault, Christ, youthful in the Early Christian tradition,
holds a scroll with seven seals (Rev. 5:1) and sits on the orb of the world
at the time of his Second Coming. The four rivers of Paradise flow be-
neath him, and rainbow-hued clouds float above. Christ extends the
golden martyr’s wreath to Vitalis, the patron saint of the church, whom
an angel introduces. At Christ’s left, another angel presents Bishop Ec-
clesius, in whose time the church foundations were laid. Ecclesius offers
a model of San Vitale to Christ. The arrangement recalls Christ’s
prophecy of the last days of the world: “And then shall they see the Son316 Chapter 12 BYZANTIUM12-6Aerial view of San Vitale (looking northwest), Ravenna, Italy,
526–547.
Justinian’s general Belisarius captured Ravenna from the Ostrogoths.
The city became the seat of Byzantine dominion in Italy. San Vitale
honored Saint Vitalis, who was martyred at Ravenna.
12-7Plan of San Vitale, Ravenna, Italy, 526–547.
Centrally planned like Justinian’s churches in Constantinople, San Vitale
is unlike any other church in Italy. The design features two concentric
octagons. A dome crowns the taller, inner octagon.N0 10 20 30405 0 feet
0 5210 15 0 meters23- Narthex
- Domed octagon
- Apse
1