His early Christian masterpieces preserve beautiful mosaics, particularly in the Mausoleum of Galla Placidia. But this also applies to the Mausoleum of Theodoric and the Neonian Baptistery, called the Orthodox Church, which presents a magnificent dome of polychrome mosaics like the Arian Baptistery.
Also the Basilica of Sant'Apollinare Nuovo, built for the Arian cult, and only later consecrated to Catholicism (in the sixth century) has the walls of the central nave entirely covered with mosaics, but stands out even more for its sixteenth-century portico and the rare cylindrical bell tower of the IX century. Wonderful mosaics also adorn the apse and the Archiepiscopal Chapel of the famous Basilica of San Vitale while the patron saint of the city represented in the midst of a country landscape mosaic is glorified in the Basilica of Sant'Apollinare in Classe.

It is precisely these precious and unique mosaic decorations, the common element that gave Ravenna the title of "city of mosaics".

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