The basilica, which is 55 m. long and 30 m. in wide, is majestic and imposing. Onto the central body of its façade, framed by two pilasters, is incorporated the narthex, terminated to the left by a quadrangular room with its own upper floor (a turret), which had its counterpart at the opposite end, though long since lost: traces of it, however, have come to light. The right-hand turret, similarly, is lost.
The basilica would have had an even more grandiose aspect, originally, than it has today. In fact, apart from the lost right-hand turret, it lacks the quadriportico which ran in front of the narthex (itself largely rebuilt at the beginning of the century) and which, according to recent surveys, was wider than the basilica proper, extending over the north and south rooms (an expanded quadriportico).
The basilica, built out of the so-called 'Julian bricks' (each about 4 x 48 cm, divided by a layer of mortar of equal thickness), was built on an old burial ground, in use from the end of the 2nd - beginning of the 3rd century, up until the time of the basilica's erection (middle of the 6th century). Therein, the first bishop, Apollinare himself, was interred, in a sarcophagus situated half way down the southern side of the basilica; at which point, there is an epigraph, believed to be of the 6th century, stating that the urn of Apollinare was transferred inside the church at the time of Maximian, (in hoc loco stetit arca apolenaris sacerdotis et confessoris ... ).
Inside, the basilica is characterized by a spaciousness that gives the feeling of entering a dimension which is both abstract and transcendent, imposing in its grandeur and majesty. It is divided into three naves by two rows of twelve columns, all of the same veined Greek marble, originating in the Sea of Marmara (A.Agnello), resting on dadi decorated with a lozenge motif, something very common in Constantinople and in the Eastern world generally.
The interior space is well-proportioned: the central nave being equal to twice that of the side naves. Apart from the priceless columns on their dadi, the fine capitals are worthy of attention for their motif - referred to as "acanthus leaves stirred by the wind", from the impression they give of the sculptured leaves being swollen as if by a breath of wind. Between the arches and the side walls of the central nave are to be seen cameo portraits from the 18th century representing the bishops and archbishops of Ravenna.
The original floor was a mosaic of geometric motifs: fragments of it have been uncovered at the end of the left nave, in the middle of the central nave (now placed on the right-hand wall of the church) and at the beginning of the right nave: in this last, an inscription commemorates 'Gaudentia' and 'Felix', the names of two benefactors of the church who contributed with their own money to the laying of the floor.
The opulence of its interior must have been magnified by the precious marble that dressed its side walls - until it was removed by Sigismondo Pandolfo Malatesta at the beginning of the 15th century to adorn the temple he was having built in Rimini. Originally, on the side walls, there were three doorways. The basilica ends in a semi-circular apse which has a poligonal form on the outside, flanked by two square rooms, each with its own little poligonal apse (pastophoria), an oriental usage which became part of the Ravenna tradition.
The Basilica of Sant'Apollinare in Classe is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site. |
