Galerius palace (Rotonda) temple at Thessaloniki, Greece
Rotunda (ροτόντα) are neighboring early 4th-century monuments in the city of Thessaloniki, in the region of Central Macedonia in northern Greece. The Rotunda is also known as the Church of Agios Georgios or (in English) the Rotunda of St. George. The 4th-century Roman Emperor Galerius commissioned these two structures as elements of an imperial precinct linked to his Thessaloniki palace. Archeologists have found substantial remains of the palace to the southwest. These three monumental structures were connected by a road that ran through the arch, which rose above the major east-west road of the city. At the crux of the major axes of the city, the Arch of Galerius emphasized the power of the emperor and linked the monumental structures with the fabric of 4th-century Thessaloniki. The arch was composed of a masonry core faced with marble sculptural panels celebrating a victory over the Sassanid Persians. Less than half of the arch is preserved. The Rotunda was a massive circular structure with a masonry core that had an oculus like the Pantheon in Rome. It has gone through multiple periods of use and modification as a polytheist temple, a Christian basilica, a Muslim mosque, and again a Christian church (and archaeological site). A minaret is preserved from its use as a mosque, and ancient remains are exposed on its southern side.
Size: 4272px × 2848px
Location: Rotonda palace, Thessaloniki city, Greece, Europe
Photo credit: © PANAGIOTIS KARAPANAGIOTIS / Alamy / Afripics
License: Royalty Free
Model Released: No
Keywords: ancient, antiquity, architecture, building, byzantine, castle, church, city, destination, eastlandmark, europe, faith, fortress, galerious, galerius, greece, greek, historic, islam, landmark, macedonia, masonic, masonry, medieval, middle, minaret, monument, mosque, muslim, palace, prayer, religion, rodonta, rotonda, rotonta, rotunda, sacred, salonica, salonika, sightseeing, steeple, structure, templar, temple, thessalonica, thessalonika, thessaloniki, touristic, traditional, travel, wall
