The Mausoleum of Galla Placidia
The starry vault
In the garden next to the Basilica of San Vitale in Ravenna, a small, low brick building in the shape of a Latin cross, half buried by the raising of the ground over the centuries, hides one of the most moving interiors of ancient art. It is the Mausoleum of Galla Placidia, built in the second quarter of the fifth century, part of the UNESCO site of Ravenna. Galla Placidia was an extraordinary figure: daughter of Emperor Theodosius I, she was taken prisoner by the Visigoths during the sack of Rome in 410 and married their king, then returned to Italy, and for years governed the Western Roman Empire as regent for her son Valentinian III, making Ravenna its capital. According to tradition, she wanted the building as her tomb, but she probably died and was buried in Rome.
Entering through the low door, in the dim light filtered by thin slabs of alabaster in the windows, you are enveloped by a sky of mosaics that covers every surface. The central dome is a deep blue starry sky, with hundreds of golden stars arranged in concentric circles around a gold cross, and the symbols of the four evangelists in the corners. In the lunettes, deer drink at the spring of life, doves drink from a basin, and above the entrance, the famous Good Shepherd, a young Christ with a golden robe, sitting among his sheep in a green landscape. Opposite, Saint Lawrence runs towards the gridiron of his martyrdom. The building houses three ancient marble sarcophagi.
Tip: the visit lasts only a few minutes and entry is regulated in time slots, so book in advance; let your eyes adjust to the darkness.
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