300s AD mosaic in the Basilica di Santa Maria Assunta at Aquileia, Friuli Venezia Giulia, Italy. This basilica was the first Christian church to be built legally in Aquileia and was founded as Christianity spread through the Roman Empire. In 313 AD, Emperors Constantine and Licinius signed the Edict of Milan, proclaiming religious tolerance and enabling Christians to build their first places of public worship.
Aquileia, Friuli Venezia Giulia, Italy: this man wearing a blue, grey and black toga, portrayed in the vast floor mosaic in the South Hall of the Basilica of Aquileia, may have been a benefactor of the first Christian church to be built legally in the ancient Roman city, founded as Christianity spread through the Roman Empire in the 4th century AD. The original church, seat of a bishopric, was built on land in the heart of the Roman metropolis, which once had about 100,000 citizens and was one of the ancient world’s largest cities. Building began soon after 313 AD, the year when Roman emperors Constantine and Licinius signed the Edict of Milan. The Edict proclaimed religious toleration throughout the empire and enabled Christian communities to build their first legal places of public worship. The first church was largely destroyed, but it was rebuilt four times over several centuries, each time including elements of the previous buildings. However, the vast mosaic pavement of which this design forms a part was only revealed when red and white 11th century floor tiles were lifted between 1909 and 1912. The present Basilica Patriarchal di Santa Maria Assunta looks from outside to be built mainly in medieval Romanesque-Gothic style, but inside, the entire pavement is taken up by the colourful 4th century mosaics. The well-preserved South Hall pavement, at 750 square metres, is the largest early Christian mosaic in the western world. Visitors can now stand on glass platforms fixed at the level of the 11th century floor to see the ancient pavement in fine detail.
Size: 4288px × 2848px
Location: Basilica di Santa Maria Assunta, Aquileia, Friuli Venezia Giulia, Italy
Photo credit: © Terence Kerr / Alamy / Afripics
License: Royalty Free
Model Released: No
Keywords: &, 300s, 313, 4th, ad, ancient, aquileia, archaeological, art, assunta, basilica, benefactor, cathedrals, century, christian, christianity, christians, church, churches, city, colourful, constantine, , di, early, edict, emperors, empire, era, face, faces, fashion, floor, freedom, friuli, geometric, giulia, glass, hall, heritage, italian, italy, kerr, legal, licinius, male, man, maria, men, milan, mosaic, mosaics, northeast, paleo, patriarcale, pavement, persecution, platform, portrait, portraits, preserved, province, religious, restored, roman, romans, santa, site, south, stones, surround, terence, tessellated, tiled, toga, udine, unesco, venezia, wearing, world
