402402–540 · Ravenna
Ravenna and the fall of the Western Roman Empire
In 402 the western emperors moved their court to Ravenna, protected by marshes. There in 476 the Germanic general Odoacer deposed the boy emperor Romulus Augustulus, the date usually taken as the end of Roman rule in the West. The Ostrogothic king Theodoric then ruled Italy from the city, until Justinian's armies took it back for Constantinople in 540, leaving mosaics from every stage.
Sites
- Site 1: Mausoleum of Galla PlacidiaStarry blue mosaics in the tomb chapel of an emperor's sister and regent.Map ↗
- Site 2: Basilica of San VitaleMosaic portraits of Justinian and Theodora with their courts.Map ↗
- Site 3: Basilica of Sant'Apollinare NuovoTheodoric's palace church, lined with mosaic processions of saints.Map ↗
- Site 4: Mausoleum of TheodoricThe Gothic king's stone tomb, roofed with a single huge block.Map ↗
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