Basilica of Sant'Apollinare Nuovo

Apollinare Nuovo is a three-aisled Basilikalkirche in Ravenna, Italy.

It is famous above all - as the other Byzantine churches of Ravenna - through the wall mosaics in its interior. With the other early churches in Ravenna Apollinare Nuovo is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

History

The building was built by Theodoric as a church of the Arian faith, and Christ the Redeemer, towards the end of the 5th or early 6th century consecrated ( Salvator church). An inscription is indeed obtained ( it will be played among others by the chronicler Agnellus in his Liber Pontificalis Rave Nati ); but this does not allow a detailed dating. It is only deducible that the Church under Theodoric a fundamentis so on from the foundations, was built.

After 540, when the Byzantines eingliederten the city in its domain, all the buildings of the Arians were gradually incorporated into the Catholic Church and consecrated the basilica 556-565 to St. Martin of Tours. This was done under the then Archbishop of Ravenna, under Archbishop Agnellus. Towards the middle of the 9th century, the basilica was given its present name when the relics of St. Appolinaris, the first bishop of Ravenna, the Church of Saint Apollinare in Classe were transferred to St. Martin's Church within the city walls. Those other basilica was outside and looters was more accessible. The surname Nuovo was given to the Church, therefore, to distinguish it from another smaller and older church, which was called the San Apollinare in Veclo and came from the fifth century AD.

Outside

The facade is presented a simple marble arcade from the 16th-century. The cylindrical 38 -meter high bell tower ( Campanile ) dates from the 9th or 10th century. In the lower floors there are single lancet window in the floors above mullioned mullioned in the upper floors Romanesque- Ottonian window. This leaves the tower appear narrower. The shape of the tower is originally from the Roman military architecture; there such towers were built mainly in the city wall fortifications.

Interior

The interior ( 42 × 21 m ) consists of three ships, which are supported by 24 columns with Corinthian capitals. In the 16th century, the columns were increased by 1.20 m. The apse was renewed in 1950. She was probably decorated with mosaics, which had been destroyed during an earthquake in the 7th century. The current coffered ceiling dates from the 16th century. It replaces the original ceiling, which had been called because of their magnificent mosaics St. Martin in gold sky.

The present mosaics date from the time of Theodoric. There are 13 rectangular panels on each wall depicting scenes from the life of Jesus. On Window height are creatures standing on grass ground, left is the procession of 22 virgins seen in gold-embroidered tunics with white veils that follow the holy three kings who the Madonna on a throne with the Child on her lap, approaching. On the right side you can see the train of the 26 martyrs who wear simple white robes. Only the St. Martin at the top bears the patron saint of the basilica purple. The martyrs proceed to Christ, who sits on a throne between angels. Christ bears since the restoration of 1860 a scepter. Originally he held an open book with the inscription Ego sum Rex gloriae (I'm the King of glory ). Noteworthy are still the mosaics near the entrance of the church to the palace of Theodoric and the city's harbor, Classis show. From them, the images were after the conquest of Ravenna by Eastern Roman troops in 540 Theodoric and his courtiers removed and replaced with images of curtains; if you look closely you can still see the hands of the figures shown once but in several places.