HOME | DD

Description
This is the apse of the 6th century Basilica of St. Apollinare in Classe, near Ravenna (Italy). It was built by the Byzantines after troops of emperor Justinian regained Italy from the Ostrogoths and the Exarchate of Ravenna was established. Classe was an important port where merchant ships from (or to) Constantinople, Greece and Africa docked. Inside the church relics of St. Apollinaris were kept. The city remained a Byzantine possession until it was taken by the Lombards. In later medieval period the church was taken care of by monks of the Benedictine order.

For me, this monument of Byzantine culture is an important reminder of how much of Byzantine art was destroyed by later Arab and Western invasions. Classe was not an extravagantly rich city and similarly decorated churches, basilicas, cathedrals and monasteries must have existed across the whole Byzantine Empire in many towns of Northern Africa (especially in Carthage), Egypt (Alexandria) and the Middle East (Antioch, Jerusalem, Tyre, Bethlehem where some Byzantine art is preserved). The period known as the ‘dark ages’ following the fall of the Western Roman empire in fact glittered with Byzantine gold and I could never convince myself that the Islamic invasion had such a positive impact of reviving the ‘forgotten’ Greek knowledge . I really appreciate the great achievements of Islamic culture in the medieval ages but still, I think Byzantium is highly underrated. Anyway – sorry for making this post so long – I do hope you like this photo !

Description
This is the apse of the 6th century Basilica of St. Apollinare in Classe, near Ravenna (Italy). It was built by the Byzantines after troops of emperor Justinian regained Italy from the Ostrogoths and the Exarchate of Ravenna was established. Classe was an important port where merchant ships from (or to) Constantinople, Greece and Africa docked. Inside the church relics of St. Apollinaris were kept. The city remained a Byzantine possession until it was taken by the Lombards. In later medieval period the church was taken care of by monks of the Benedictine order.

For me, this monument of Byzantine culture is an important reminder of how much of Byzantine art was destroyed by later Arab and Western invasions. Classe was not an extravagantly rich city and similarly decorated churches, basilicas, cathedrals and monasteries must have existed across the whole Byzantine Empire in many towns of Northern Africa (especially in Carthage), Egypt (Alexandria) and the Middle East (Antioch, Jerusalem, Tyre, Bethlehem where some Byzantine art is preserved). The period known as the ‘dark ages’ following the fall of the Western Roman empire in fact glittered with Byzantine gold and I could never convince myself that the Islamic invasion had such a positive impact of reviving the ‘forgotten’ Greek knowledge . I really appreciate the great achievements of Islamic culture in the medieval ages but still, I think Byzantium is highly underrated. Anyway – sorry for making this post so long – I do hope you like this photo !