The story of this place
Built around 430 for Galla Placidia, daughter of Emperor Theodosius and one of the most powerful women of the age, this small cruciform chapel holds Ravenna's oldest and arguably most beautiful mosaics. Its barrel vaults culminate in a deep-blue dome scattered with 900 golden stars encircling a cross—an image so magical that Cole Porter, honeymooning here in 1919, was inspired to write 'Night and Day.' Other panels show the Good Shepherd and St Lawrence with his gridiron. Despite the name, Galla Placidia—who ruled the Western Empire as regent for her son—was probably buried in Rome, not here. The building has sunk over a metre, deepening its intimate, jewel-box feel.