Art And Architecture 359
vetustatis—stone components from old buildings no longer in use;29 the pre-
fect of Rome was instructed to remove marble from the Domus Pinciana,
much of which apparently ended up in the palace complex.30 Cassiodorus
summed up Theoderic’s patronage by stating that, “under his well-disposed
rule very many cities were renovated, the most fortified castles were built, pal-
aces worthy of admiration arose, and the ancient wonders were excelled by his
great works”.31
Churches and Palaces at Ravenna
Theoderic’s most important building projects were in his capital city of
Ravenna (Figure 14.6).32 When he and his people settled in the former capital
of the western empire they apparently occupied the eastern side of the city,
home to the imperial palace complex. Perhaps there was more room in this
area, removed from the ancient core and forum of the city and closer to the
sea. The Ostrogoths were Arians and set about building churches to accom-
modate their worship; Agnellus mentions seven Arian churches in Ravenna
and nearby Caesarea and Classe.33 Of the known churches they built, all of the
urban churches were located in this part of the city with the exception of one
possibly built by Amalasuentha, S. Pietro in Orphanotrophio, located some-
where in the older part of the city.34 Amalasuentha wrote a letter written to
Justinian regarding the acquisition of building materials from Constantinople,
perhaps for a church.35 Capitals from another building, the destroyed Ecclesia
Gothorum that had stood in the north-east corner of the city, were reused in
an arcade near the civic palace and bear the monogram of Theoderic, show-
ing that he was the patron of the building (Figure 14.7). Those built outside of
the walls were to the north-east and south-east of the city, with at least one in
the suburb known as Caesarea. Of these, the patron is specified only once by
29 Variae 3.9.
30 Variae 3.10.
31 Chronica, s. 500, ed. Mommsen, Monumenta Germaniae Historica Auctores Antiquissimi,
vol. 11, p. 160.
32 Now see in general Deliyannis, Ravenna; Cirelli, Ravenna; Davide, Eternal Ravenna;
Verhoeven, Early Christian Monuments of Ravenna; and Wood, “Theoderic’s Monuments”.
Deichmann, Ravenna, remains fundamental for the study of any of Ravenna’s monuments.
33 Liber Pontificalis 86, ed. Delyiannis, p. 253; see Cirelli, Ravenna, pp. 98–9 and 236;
Deichmann, Ravenna, vol. 2.2, pp. 325–7.
34 Agnellus, Liber Pontificalis 62, ed. Deliyannis, p. 232; Cirelli, Ravenna, p. 256.
35 Cassiodorus, Variae 10.8.