The Mausoleum of Galla Placidia (386-452), sister of the Roman emperor Honorius, is a Christian funerary monument. Built in the shape of a Latin cross, the building has arrived almost intact in its architectural structure and mosaics. We are in a place of transit, of passage from life in time to life in the eternal: a work of ethical and aesthetic fascination, where the masters of mosaic embrace those of faith.
The Mosaics The dome, a symbol of heaven, holds the most expressive and famous part of the decoration. Between the 570 golden stars and the deep blue sky emerges the glorious Cross, Christian signum of the resurrection. The nocturnal atmosphere, which already impressed D'Annunzio and inspired Cole Porter. the song Night and Day, is magical: all the iconographic themes (from the four animals of the Apocalypse to the Apostles) represent the victory of life over death, where the cross triumphs as the way to resurrection and eternal life. Dark dominants triumph everywhere, juxtaposed with touches of gold and vermilion and the warm light of alabaster: the effect is a diffuse atmosphere of stillness, appropriate for a tomb and its message of Life After Life.
The Shepherd Redeemer, victor over death. Toward the front door the Redeemer, Christ the Lord, has the cross for a scepter. Portrayed with six sheep in a quiet, bucolic landscape, Christ is portrayed in his full kingship, young and beardless, dominus over time and history.
Lunette of St. Lawrence Saint Lawrence the martyr follows the martyrdom of Christ. As Christ triumphed through the cross, so Lawrence (and Galla Placidia) will have salvation from the cross. A salvation preached by the Apostles, especially Peter and Paul who point to the Cross. The arrangement of funereal Christian symbols is completed by the doves paired with the gushing fountain in the four walls of the drum, and the deer portrayed in the lunettes expressing the baptismal water of life (Psalm 41:1-3). The abstractly starry sky of the vault with the decoration in plants, flowers and fruits indicates the abundance of life in the Kingdom, the ultimate goal of the whole human story in salvation history.
