Associazione Città Italiane Patrimonio Mondiale UNESCO

From the 20th report of the World Heritage Committee:
Early Christian buildings in Ravenna
Inscription N° 788 – 1997 C (i) (ii) (iii) (iv)

The Committee has decided to inscribe this item on the basis of criteria (i) (ii) (iii) and (iv), in view of the fact that the array of early Christian buildings in Ravenna is of immense importance, owing to the supreme artistic mastery shown in its mosaics.
They are also important proof of artistic and religious connections and contacts during an important period in European culture.
The original name for the inscription has been changed to "Early Christian buildings in Ravenna." The eight buildings for which Ravenna has been included in the World Heritage List are:
The Mausoleum of Galla Placidia
Catholic Baptistery
Arian Baptistery
St Apollinaris-the-New
The Archbishop's Chapel
The Mausoleum of Theodoric
Basilica of St Vitalis
St Apollinaris at Classis


The Church of Ss. Nazarius and Celsus, thought to have been the Mausoleum of Galla Placidia is a small, sober building, laid out in the shape of a Latin cross. This completely hides the riches contained within: the Christian mosaics represent the victory of life over death. The Catholic Baptistery, dedicated by Archbishop Neon (449-52), is sometimes called the Orthodox Baptistery, to distinguish it from the Arian one ordered by Theodoric, king of the Goths. The marbles of the socle seem to have been taken from secular buildings, and these added to the splendour of stuccoes, and the mosaics of the cupola. During the high point of Gothic rule during the 4th century, the Arian Baptistery came about. Its layout is an octagon, with a cupola decorated by a mosaic depicting the Baptism of Our Lord, Whom the Arian Gnostics denied was the Son of God. When Theodoric was still reigning, he ordered the Basilica of St Apollinaris at Classis to be built for the Arians, although it was later to become a Catholic Church. The walls of the nave are completely covered in mosaics. The upper part shows scenes from the life and passion of Our Lord, and the lower part contains stunning processions of Martyrs and Virgins from the Byzantine period. The Mausoleum of Theodoric, a decagonal structure, is the monument that reveals Roman art in its purest form, at once austere and graceful. Built using enormous blocks of stone from Istria, it extends to two floors. Covered with a great monolith thirty-six feet in diameter, three feet thick, and weighing more than 300 tonnes, it is probably one of the greatest monoliths in the world to be used as a cupola. The Chapel of the Archiepiscopal Palace of St Peter Chrysologus was the only Orthodox building during the reign of Theodoric. The mosaics it contains depict the fight against the heresy of Arius, and Our Lord is portrayed as a warrior. The Basilica of St Vitalis is one of the purest examples of early Christian art in Italy, a sort of transition from classical to Byzantine architecture.
It is a work of the architect Julianus Argentarius, with an octagonal structure of nearly 114 feet in diameter. The outside is an extremely rich alternation between different architectural shapes. The inside is of surprising beauty, owing to the originality of its layout, its marble coverings, and mosaics. The sanctuary is the most precious part, because of the richness of its mosaics, with an iconography based upon sacred liturgy. A mere five kilometres from Ravenna, outside the walls of the ancient port, is the Basilica of St Apollinaris at Classis. The church, a basilica from 549 with a cylindrical bell tower, dominates the surrounding countryside. The interior is solemn and grandiose; the apse mosaics represent Ravenna's patron saint preaching, surrounded by views of Ravenna.