Mosaics in the so-called 'Mausoleum of Galla Placidia' in Ravenna (northern Italy) depicting the Apostles and an unlabelled figure, probably either *Vincent (deacon of Zaragoza and martyr of Valencia, S00290) or *Laurence (deacon and martyr of Rome, S01229); created 425/450.
E06027
Images and objects - Wall paintings and mosaics
Mosaics in the Mausoleum of Galla Placidia, Ravenna
The building – now known as the Mausoleum of Galla Placidia – is organised in a cruciform shape around a central chamber topped by a dome. The walls of the vaults, lunettes and cupola are all covered with mosaics.
The central chamber’s upper walls are adorned with four mosaics, each depicting two unlabelled figures against a blue background (so eight figures in total). All are dressed in a white tunic with two black vertical stripes (clavi), topped by a white cloak (himation or pallium) draped over one shoulder and (in several cases) decorated with two Greek letters. This is the characteristic dress of the Apostles in the Ravenna mosaics, and indeed two of the figures are recognisable as *Peter (with white hair and beard, S00036) and *Paul (with black beard and balding pate, S00008).
The lunette on the southern wall depicts a haloed male figure dressed in the same way as the Apostles. He advances from the right-hand side of the mosaic and holds an open book and cross. In the centre of the mosaic a fire fiercely burns under a gridiron. On the left of the mosaic, an open cupboard contains four books, each labelled with the name of one of the evangelists. (See the Discussion for the identification of this saint.)
Description: Frances Trzeciak.
Cult building - dependent (chapel, baptistery, etc.)
Use of ImagesCommissioning/producing an image
Public display of an image
Source
These mosaics decorate the walls and vault of the so-called 'Mausoleum of Galla Placidia'.Discussion
Although it is probable that Galla Placidia was involved in the foundation of this building, there is no evidence it was ever used or intended to be used as her mausoleum. Instead, it may have been used as a memorial chapel, a foundation dedicated to a saint (possibly Vincent or Laurence), a burial place for other important figures, or an oratory.The identification of the figure with the gridiron is debated. He was until fairly recently generally assumed to be Laurence, due to the popularity of his cult across Italy in the 5th c. and the presence of the gridiron – the means of his death (see e.g. E00782). Yet this does not account for the presence of the book in the depicted saint's arms or the gospels in the cupboard. Gillian Mackie has suggested that this image may instead depict Vincent, deacon of Zaragoza and martyr of Valencia, who could have received special devotion from Galla because of her close links to Spain. Mackie points out that Vincent refused to surrender holy books to the persecutors, and argues that other details of the iconography also fit more closely with stories of his martyrdom than Laurence’s. Vincent was also tortured on a gridiron and rushed towards it ahead of his torturers, matching the mosaic figure, who is seemingly hurrying towards the gridiron. Additionally, Vincent’s torturers added salts to the flames to make them burn more fiercely and inflict more pain, matching the bright and leaping flames in the mosaic. Laurence’s executioners, on the other hand, dampened the flames to prolong his dying. For Prudentius' account of Vincent’s martyrdom – which includes all of these elements and was widely known – see E00860.
Note added 6/1/2026: However, for a vigourous defence of the argument that this figure is Laurence, not Vincent, see Grig 2004, 136-7, rightly pointing out that three late-antique images of Laurence show him holding a cross of exactly the same form as that carried by the saint in the Mausoleum of Galla Placidia, in two cases with it borne over his right shoulder just as in the Ravenna mosaic.
Bibliography
Further Reading:Deichmann, Friederich Wilhelm, Ravenna, Hauptstadt des spätantiken Abendlandes, vol. 1-3 (Wiesbaden, 1958-89).
Deliyannis, Deborah Mauskopf, Ravenna in Late Antiquity (Cambridge, 2010).
Grig, Lucy, Making Martyrs in Late Antiquity, London 2004.
Jäggi, Carola, Ravenna: Kunst und Kultur einer spätantiken Residenzstadt; die Bauten und Mosaiken des 5. und 6. Jahrhunderts (Regensburg, 2016).
Mackie, Gillian, "New Light on the So-Called Saint Lawrence Panel at the Mausoleum of Galla Placidia, Ravenna," Gesta 29:1 (1990), 54-60.
Verhoeven, Mariëtte, The Early Christian Monuments of Ravenna: Transformations and Memory (Turnhout, 2011).
Images
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Mosaic in southern lunette depicting either Vincent or Laurence in the Mausoleum of Galla Placidia. Photo credit: Nick Thompson, 23/04/2010. License: CC BY-SA 2.0.
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Mosaic on upper section of the main chamber depicting Peter and Paul. Photo credit: yumievriwan (flickr), 28/04/2018. License: CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.
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Unknown Apostle, Mausoleum of Galla Placidia. Photo credit: Nick Thompson, 23/04/2010. License: CC BY-SA 2.0.
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Unknown Apostle, Mausoleum of Galla Placidia. Photo credit: Nick Thompson, 23/04/2010. License: CC BY-SA 2.0.
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Exterior view of the building
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Interior of the building, looking across the central chamber from the northern arm. Photo credit: Holly Hayes, 09/05/2008. License: CC BY-NC 2.0.
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Frances Trzeciak
30/07/2018
| ID | Name | Name in Source | Identity | S00008 | Paul, the Apostle | Certain | S00036 | Peter, the Apostle | Certain | S00037 | Laurence/Laurentius, deacon and martyr of Rome | Uncertain | S00084 | Apostles, unnamed or name lost | Uncertain | S00290 | Vincentius/Vincent, deacon of Zaragoza and martyr of Valencia | Uncertain |
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Please quote this record referring to its author, database name, number, and, if possible, stable URL:
Frances Trzeciak, Cult of Saints, E06027 - http://csla.history.ox.ac.uk/record.php?recid=E06027