Loading...By the time we reached Galla Placidia, we had seen many depictions of the blue sky with golden stars. The motif is all over the place in Padova: the Scrovegni Chapel, the Piano Nobile of the Caffe Pedrocchi, even the upholstery of the seats on the city’s trams. I can’t help but think they were all ripping off Galla Placidia, the tomb built by Galla herself between 425-450 AD. Galla was the sister of the Emperor Honorius who moved the capital of the Western Roman Empire to Ravenna.
The mosaics of Galla Placidia are blue and red with the most inky blues saved for the dome, done in midnight with gold stars and a cross shimmering through. I couldn’t help but think about the preoccupation with the starry sky I had seen so often in these 2 days and inevitably I thought of O Holy Night. It’s a quiet thought that seems to pervade best in the intimate spaces of the dim tomb where you feel almost that it is night and you are under the stars and by some miracle you see the cross in the dark above you. It’s so close you think you can touch it, but you can’t. You feel it though, the smallness and the reference of the idea of the sanctity of night. Galla Placidia is truly a special place.
Here are Eric’s thoughts at the time:
There aren’t really words that can describe the mosaics at Ravenna. The colors, detail, vibrancy and immediacy after 1500 are simply astounding. Galla Placidia was the most remarkable. A small mausoleum covered in mosaics representing different saints, prophets and early Christian themes, it has, on its roof a mosaic of blue sky with shimmering gold stars and gold cross at the center with the animals symbolising the four evangelists at the corners. For reasons I can’t really explain, it was enormously affecting, almost bringing me to tears. One of the most incredible things I have ever seen.
After leaving Galla Placidia, we went back to our bed & breakfast of the same name to officially check in. We were pleasantly surprised at the quality of the room but didn’t stay long. There were more mosaics out there and at this point we were on a mission.
The best way to view the pictures (in my opinion) is to click on the first one which opens a larger view, then click Next in that new window. This way you can also read the captions.
