Sailing ships, each with a single mast, at the entrance to Classe, an ancient seaport founded by Rome. Ostrogoth mosaic in the Basilica di Sant’Apollinare Nuovo at Ravenna, Emilia-Romagna, Italy. The mosaic was created in the 500s AD, before Ravenna was taken from the Ostrogoths by the Byzantine Empire. Each ship has a square sail and is steered by two oars.
Ravenna, Emilia-Romagna, Italy: single-masted ships with square sails, steered by two oars. Ostrogoth mosaic in the Basilica di Sant’Apollinare Nuovo, created in the 6th century AD, before Ravenna was taken from the Ostrogoths by the Byzantine Empire. This is a detail from a mosaic showing sailing vessels by the entrance to the harbour at Classe or Classis, Ravenna’s ancient Adriatic seaport, founded by Rome and a strategic naval base and commercial port before the harbour dried up and the town was destroyed. The Basilica di Sant’Apollinare Nuovo was originally an Arian church, founded by Theodoric the Great (454 - 526 AD), king of the Ostrogoths, and dedicated to the Redeemer. It was built between 493, when the Goths entered Ravenna, and 526, when Theodoric died. At some point between 556 and 565 AD, after Ravenna was taken by the Byzantine Empire, and after an edict relating to Arian property issued by Byzantine Emperor Justinian the Great, the church was consecrated for Catholic use. The majority of mosaics in the Basilica, including this one, date to the time of Theodoric and are Ostrogoth. But mosaics depicting the following belong to the time of Justinian and are Byzantine: Martyrs in procession, female Saints in procession, and the Biblical Magi or Three Wise Men.
Size: 4194px × 2785px
Location: Basilica di Sant’Apollinare Nuovo, Ravenna, Emilia-Romagna, Italy.
Photo credit: © Terence Kerr / Alamy / Afripics
License: Royalty Free
Model Released: No
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