Ravenna, Italy: St. Apollinare in Classe, Central Nave 1
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Authors
Issue Date
5/21/17
Type
Image
Language
Keywords
Italy , Ravenna , St. Apollinare in Classe , Basilica of Sant'Apollinare in Classe , Saint Apollinaris in Classe , Basilicas , Byzantine Art , Mosaics , Naves , Marble Columns , Roundel Portraits , Frescos , Mullioned Windows
Alternative Title
Abstract
Description
View of the central nave of the Basilica of St. Apollinare in Classe (or Basilica of Sant'Apollinare in Classe, or Saint Apollinaris in Classe), which is located in Ravenna, Italy. The ten columns pictured are part of the 24 columns of Greek transversally veined marble (from the island of Proconnesian), ending in the green of the mosaic meadow, whiteness of sheep, and pinewood of St. Apollinare, at the apse of the church (on the left). The capitals of the columns feature acanthus leaves. "The original mosaic and marble decoration of the walls was lost and partly replaced by fresco roundel portraits of the bishops of Ravenna," according to Ravenna: Capital of Empire, Crucible of Europe, by Judith Herrin (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2020, plate 50). The portraits appear above the columned arches. The lateral walls are bare now, but probably were decorated when the church was built. Many mullioned windows line the upper and lower levels of the nave.