The Mausoleum of Galla Placidia sits in the courtyard of Ravenna’s magnificent 6th-century Basilica of San Vitale, but its connection to the basilica is unclear. Its construction dates to sometime in the 5th century, during the last years of the Western Roman Empire.
The signature motif of its breathtaking mosaics, described by UNESCO as “among the best surviving examples of this form of art in Europe,” is the starry sky that drapes parts of the ceiling. Elsewhere are grapevines, representing the Eucharist. In the center of the mausoleum’s cross-shaped barrel vaults rests a shallow dome, covered with stars, centered with a cross. Each corner contains a figure of the four symbols of the Evangelists.
