The Basilica of San Vitale is a
late antique church
Church may refer to:
Religion
* Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities
* Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination
* Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship
* Chri ...
in
Ravenna,
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...
. The sixth-century church is an important surviving example of early Christian
Byzantine art and
architecture
Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and constructing buildings ...
. It is one of eight structures in Ravenna inscribed on the
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international coope ...
World Heritage List. Its foundational inscription describes the church as a
basilica
In Ancient Roman architecture, a basilica is a large public building with multiple functions, typically built alongside the town's forum. The basilica was in the Latin West equivalent to a stoa in the Greek East. The building gave its nam ...
, though its centrally-planned design is not typical of the basilica form. Within the Roman Catholic Church it holds the
honorific title of basilica for its historic and ecclesial importance.
History
The church's construction began in 526 on the orders of Bishop Ecclesius of Ravenna. At the time, Ravenna was under the rule of the
Ostrogoths.
Bishop Maximian completed construction in 547, preceding
Justinian's creation of the
Exarchate of Ravenna
The Exarchate of Ravenna ( la, Exarchatus Ravennatis; el, Εξαρχάτο της Ραβέννας) or of Italy was a lordship of the Eastern Roman Empire (Byzantine Empire) in Italy, from 584 to 751, when the last exarch was put to death by the ...
, which followed his partial re-conquest of the Western Roman Empire.
The construction of the church was sponsored by local banker and architect Julius Argentarius. Very little is known of Julius, but he also sponsored the construction of the nearby
Basilica of Sant'Apollinare in Classe
The Basilica of Sant' Apollinare in Classe ("Saint Apollinaris in Classe") is a church in Classe, Ravenna, Italy, consecrated on 9 May 549 by the bishop Maximian and dedicated to Saint Apollinaris, the first bishop of Ravenna and Class ...
at around the same time. A
donor portrait of Julius Argentarius may appear among the courtiers on the Justinian mosaic. The final cost amounted to 26,000
solidi
The ''solidus'' (Latin 'solid'; ''solidi'') or nomisma ( grc-gre, νόμισμα, ''nómisma'', 'coin') was a highly pure gold coin issued in the Late Roman Empire and Byzantine Empire. Constantine introduced the coin, and its weigh ...
equal to 36.11 lbs of gold. It has been suggested that Julius originated in the eastern part of the Byzantine Empire, where there was a long-standing tradition of public benefactions.
The central vault used a western technique of hollow tubes inserted into each other, rather than bricks. This method was the first recorded structural use of terra-cotta forms, which later evolved into modern
structural clay tile
Structural clay tile describes a category of burned-clay building materials used to construct roofing, walls, and flooring for structural and non-structural purposes, especially in fireproofing applications. Also called building tile, structural te ...
. The
ambulatory and gallery were vaulted only later in the Middle Ages.
The
Baroque frescoes on the dome were made between 1778 and 1782 by
S. Barozzi,
Ubaldo Gandolfi
Ubaldo Gandolfi (1728–1781) was an Italian painter of the late-Baroque period, mainly active in and near Bologna.
Biography
He was born in San Matteo della Decima and enrolled by the age of 17 at the Clementine Academy, where he apprenticed ...
and
Jacopo Guarana
225px, ''Allegory of the virtues Mocenigo'', 1787
Jacopo Guarana (October 28, 1720 – April 18, 1808) was a Venetian painter of the late Baroque period who was born in Verona. He was active mainly in Venice and its mainland territories.
In ...
.
Architecture
The main building of the church is laid out octagonally. The building combines
Roman
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
* Rome, the capital city of Italy
* Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lett ...
and
Byzantine elements. The dome, shape of doorways, and stepped towers are typical of Roman style, while the polygonal apse, capitals, narrow bricks, and an early example of
flying buttress
The flying buttress (''arc-boutant'', arch buttress) is a specific form of buttress composed of an arch that extends from the upper portion of a wall to a pier of great mass, in order to convey lateral forces to the ground that are necessary to pu ...
es are typical of the Byzantine. The church is most famous for its wealth of Byzantine
mosaics. St Vitale boasts the largest and best preserved mosaics outside of
Istanbul
)
, postal_code_type = Postal code
, postal_code = 34000 to 34990
, area_code = +90 212 (European side) +90 216 (Asian side)
, registration_plate = 34
, blank_name_sec2 = GeoTLD
, blank_i ...
. The church is of extreme importance in Byzantine art, as it is the only major church from the period of the Emperor
Justinian I
Justinian I (; la, Iustinianus, ; grc-gre, Ἰουστινιανός ; 48214 November 565), also known as Justinian the Great, was the Byzantine emperor from 527 to 565.
His reign is marked by the ambitious but only partly realized '' renov ...
to survive virtually intact. Furthermore, it is thought to reflect the design of the
Byzantine Imperial Palace Audience Chamber, of which nothing at all survives. The belltower has four bells. The tenor bell dates to the 16th century. According to legends, the church was erected on the site of the martyrdom of
Saint Vitalis. However, there is 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
Bologna (, , ; egl, label= Emilian, Bulåggna ; lat, Bononia) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in Northern Italy. It is the seventh most populous city in Italy with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different na ...
in 393.
Mosaic art
The central section is surrounded by two superposed
ambulatories. The upper one, the ''matrimoneum'', was possibly 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
Jeremiah, Modern: , Tiberian: ; el, Ἰερεμίας, Ieremíās; meaning "Yah shall raise" (c. 650 – c. 570 BC), also called Jeremias or the "weeping prophet", was one of the major prophets of the Hebrew Bible. According to Jewis ...
and
Isaiah
Isaiah ( or ; he, , ''Yəšaʿyāhū'', "God is Salvation"), also known as Isaias, was the 8th-century BC Israelite prophet after whom the Book of Isaiah is named.
Within the text of the Book of Isaiah, Isaiah himself is referred to as "the ...
, 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, ox and eagle), and dressed in white. Especially the portrayal of the lion is remarkable in its 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
angel
In various theistic religious traditions an angel is a supernatural spiritual being who serves God.
Abrahamic religions often depict angels as benevolent celestial intermediaries between God (or Heaven) and humanity. Other roles ...
s, 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 colors and a certain perspective, and with a vivid depiction of the landscape, plants and birds. They were finished when Ravenna was still under
Gothic
Gothic or Gothics may refer to:
People and languages
*Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes
**Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths
**Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...
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
A triumphal arch is a free-standing monumental structure in the shape of an archway with one or more arched passageways, often designed to span a road. In its simplest form a triumphal arch consists of two massive piers connected by an arch, cr ...
is decorated with fifteen mosaic medallions, depicting
Jesus Christ
Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label= Hebrew/ Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and relig ...
, the twelve
Apostles
An apostle (), in its literal sense, is an emissary, from Ancient Greek ἀπόστολος (''apóstolos''), literally "one who is sent off", from the verb ἀποστέλλειν (''apostéllein''), "to send off". The purpose of such sending ...
and
Saint Gervasius
Saints Gervasius and Protasius (also Saints Gervase and Protase, Gervasis and Prothasis and in French ''Gervais and Protais'') are venerated as Christian martyrs, probably of the 2nd century. They are the patron saints of Milan and of haymakers a ...
and
Saint Protasius, the sons of Saint Vitale. The
theophany was begun 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, flanked by angels, offering with his right hand the martyr's crown to Saint Vitale, while on his left Bishop Ecclesius offers a model of the church.
Justinian and Theodora panels
At the foot of the
apse side walls are two famous mosaic panels, completed in 547. On the right is a mosaic depicting the East Roman Emperor
Justinian I
Justinian I (; la, Iustinianus, ; grc-gre, Ἰουστινιανός ; 48214 November 565), also known as Justinian the Great, was the Byzantine emperor from 527 to 565.
His reign is marked by the ambitious but only partly realized '' renov ...
, clad in
Tyrian purple
Tyrian purple ( grc, πορφύρα ''porphúra''; la, purpura), also known as Phoenician red, Phoenician purple, royal purple, imperial purple, or imperial dye, is a reddish-purple natural dye. The name Tyrian refers to Tyre, Lebanon. It is ...
with a golden halo, standing next to court officials, generals
Belisarius and
Narses
, image=Narses.jpg
, image_size=250
, caption=Man traditionally identified as Narses, from the mosaic depicting Justinian and his entourage in the Basilica of San Vitale, Ravenna
, birth_date=478 or 480
, death_date=566 or 573 (aged 86/95)
, allegi ...
,
Bishop Maximian,
palatinae guards and deacons. The halo around his head gives him the same aspect as Christ in the dome of the apse, but is part of the tradition of rendering the imperial family with haloes described by
Ernst Kantorowicz in
The King's Two Bodies. Justinian himself stands in the middle, with soldiers on his right and clergy on his left, emphasizing that Justinian is the leader of both church and state of his empire. The later insertion of the Bishop Maximian's name above his head suggests that the mosaic may have been modified in 547, replacing the representation of the prior bishop with that of Maximian's.
The
gold background
Gold ground (both a noun and adjective) or gold-ground (adjective) is a term in art history for a style of images with all or most of the background in a solid gold colour. Historically, real gold leaf has normally been used, giving a luxurious ...
of the mosaic shows that Justinian and his entourage are inside the church. 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.
[Kleiner and Mamiya. ''Gardner's Art Through the Ages'', pp. 333, 336.]
Another panel shows
Empress Theodora solemn and formal, with golden halo, crown and jewels, and a group of court women as well as
eunuchs. The Empress holds the Eucharistic vessel for the Precious Blood, and her panel differs from that of Justinian in having a more complex background, with a fountain, cupola, and lavish hangings.
Gallery
File:Byggnadskonsten, San Vitale i Ravenna, Nordisk familjebok.png, Ground plan of the building
File:Apse mosaic - Basilica of San Vitale (Ravenna).jpg, Apse mosaic
File:Sanvitale03.jpg, Emperor Justinian and his retinue
File:Mosaic_of_Theodora_-_Basilica_San_Vitale_(Ravenna%2C_Italy).jpg, Empress Theodora and attendants
File:Sacrifice of Isaac mosaic - Basilica San Vitale (Ravenna).jpg, The mosaic ''Sacrifice of Isaac''
File:San vitale, ravenna, int. 01.JPG, The interior of San Vitale
File:Emilia Ravenna5 tango7174.jpg, The presbytery
See also
*
A La Ronde
A La Ronde is an 18th-century 16-sided house located near Lympstone, Exmouth, Devon, England, and in the ownership of the National Trust. The house was built for two spinster cousins, Jane and Mary Parminter. It is a Grade I listed building, a ...
, an 18th-century house in Devon, England, that is supposedly based on the Basilica.
*
List of Roman domes
*
History of Roman and Byzantine domes
References
Further reading
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
External links
History of Byzantine Architecture: San Vitale(photos)
(photos)
(photos)
{{Authority control
547
6th-century churches
Byzantine sacred architecture
Vitale
Palaeo-Christian architecture in Ravenna
Octagonal churches in Italy
Buildings of Justinian I
World Heritage Sites in Italy
Early Christian art