The Mausoleum of Theodoric ( it, Mausoleo di Teodorico) is an ancient monument just outside

Ravenna Ravenna ( , , also ; rgn, Ravèna) is the capital city of the Province of Ravenna, in the Emilia-Romagna region of Northern Italy. It was the capital city of the Western Roman Empire from 408 until its collapse in 476. It then served as the cap ...

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 re ...

. It was built in 520 AD by

Theodoric the Great Theodoric (or Theoderic) the Great (454 – 30 August 526), also called Theodoric the Amal ( got, , *Þiudareiks; Greek: , romanized: ; Latin: ), was king of the Ostrogoths (471–526), and ruler of the independent Ostrogothic Kingdom of Italy b ...

, king of the

Ostrogoths The Ostrogoths ( la, Ostrogothi, Austrogothi) were a Roman-era Germanic peoples, Germanic people. In the 5th century, they followed the Visigoths in creating one of the two great Goths, Gothic kingdoms within the Roman Empire, based upon the larg ...

, as his future tomb.

Description

The mausoleum's current structure consists of two

decagon In geometry, a decagon (from the Greek δέκα ''déka'' and γωνία ''gonía,'' "ten angles") is a ten-sided polygon or 10-gon.. The total sum of the interior angles of a simple decagon is 1440°. A self-intersecting ''regular decagon'' i ...

al orders, one above the other made of

Istrian stone Istrian stone, ''pietra d'Istria'', the characteristic group of building stones in the architecture of Venice, Istria and Dalmatia, is a dense type of impermeable limestones that was quarried in Istria, nowadays Croatia; between Portorož and Pu ...

, sourced from a quarry approximately away by land journey. The mausoleum's roof consists of a single carved stone in diameter weighing 230 tonnes. A niche leads down to a room that was probably a chapel for funeral

liturgies Liturgy is the customary public ritual of worship performed by a religious group. ''Liturgy'' can also be used to refer specifically to public worship by Christians. As a religious phenomenon, liturgy represents a communal response to and partic ...

; an external stair leads to the upper floor. Located in the centre of the upper floor is a fragmentary ancient Roman porphyry tub, likely from a bath complex, in which Theodoric was buried. His remains were removed during

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

rule, when the mausoleum was turned into a

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

oratory. In the late 19th century, silting from a nearby rivulet that had partly submerged the mausoleum was drained and excavated.

Recognition

It was inscribed with seven other "Early Christian Monuments and Mosaics of Ravenna" buildings as one of the

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

World Heritage Sites A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the UNESCO, United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNES ...

in 1996. According to the

ICOMOS The International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS; french: links=no, Conseil international des monuments et des sites) is a professional association that works for the conservation and protection of cultural heritage places around the worl ...

evaluation, "the significance of the mausoleum lies in its Gothic style and decoration, which owe nothing to

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 letter ...

or Byzantine art, although it makes use of the Roman stone construction technique of

opus quadratum ''Opus quadratum'' ("squared work") is an ancient Roman construction technique, in which squared blocks of stone of the same height were set in parallel courses, most often without the use of mortar. The Latin author Vitruvius describes the tec ...

, which had been abandoned four centuries before" and in the fact that "it is the only surviving example of a tomb of a king of this period."WORLD HERITAGE LIST Ravenna No 788
/ref> File:Ravenna Mausoleum of Theoderic inside lower level.jpg, Inside lower level File:Ravenna Mausoleum of Theoderic inside top2 wideangle.jpg, Inside top level File:Ravenna Mausoleum of Theoderic inside top cracked roof stone.jpg, Inside top level with cracked roof stone File:Ravenna Mausoleum of Theoderic inside top wideangle.jpg, Inside top level wideangle File:Mausoleo di teodorico, interno, camera superiore, sarcofago di teodorico, in porfido, 520 dc ca. 04.jpg, Porphyry sarcophagus of Theodoric

References

External links

Ravenna Turismo
Timetable and information for visiting the mausoleum and other Ravenna monuments, in Italian, English and German. * ''Original text adopted fro

No copyright notice has been found on the site so far. Please remove the text and the photo if you find one.''
Revolving image of the upper floor.
The dark color tub appears at the lower corner.

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mausoleum Of Theoderic

Theoderic Theodoric is a Germanic given name. First attested as a Gothic name in the 5th century, it became widespread in the Germanic-speaking world, not least due to its most famous bearer, Theodoric the Great, king of the Ostrogoths. Overview The name ...

Monuments and memorials in Italy Palaeo-Christian architecture in Ravenna Buildings and structures completed in the 6th century Rotundas in Europe Tourist attractions in Emilia-Romagna Ostrogothic art Theoderic the Great

Description

Recognition

See also

References

Further reading

External links