
Mausloeum of Galla Placidia
The Mausoleum of Galla Placidia, built in 425 A.D., with its unique early Christian mosaics, is one of the eight amazing UNESCO World Heritage sites in the city of Ravenna.
The intrados of the northern arm is adorned with a sumptuous festoon
of vegetation and fruit, emerging from two different opposing baskets,
one to the west and the other to the east.
The western section features a vase, where ochre and gold tesserae
imitate the delicate weaving of wicker. Against a white and silvery
background, figs, pomegranates and olives emerge, depicted through
subtle colour transitions, framed by tender green leaves. These fruits –
symbols of the Promised Land – represent abundance and well-being.
At the centre of the intrados lies the monogram of Christ and as the
garland stretches eastward towards the second basket from which it
originates, the fruits seem to ripen and open up, bathed in divine light
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