Sant’Apollinare in Classe

church, Ravenna, Italy

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July 13, 2026

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The Basilica of Sant'Apollinare in Classe is a significant and well-preserved early Christian church located in Ravenna, Italy. It was constructed with funds from Julianus Argentarius and consecrated in 549 CE. Ravenna served as the capital of the Western Roman Empire and later as a center for Ostrogothic and Byzantine rule in Italy.12

Originally situated near the Roman harbor of Classe, the church now stands inland due to marsh-draining. It is believed to be built on a cemetery site and is dedicated to Sant'Apollinare, the first bishop of Ravenna. The brick church features three naves separated by marble columns and is renowned for its valuable early medieval mosaics, particularly in the presbytery and apse, created by unknown Byzantine artists.1

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campanile
…stand beside the churches of Sant’Apollinare in Classe (c. 532–49) and Sant’Apollinare Nuovo, Ravenna (c. 490). Round campaniles appeared occasionally in later periods; the famous Leaning Tower of Pisa (begun in 1173), sheathed in a series of superimposed arcades, is a more elaborate version of this type.
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…stand beside the churches of Sant’Apollinare in Classe (c. 532–49) and Sant’Apollinare Nuovo, Ravenna (c. 490). Round campaniles appeared occasionally in later periods; the famous Leaning Tower of Pisa (begun in 1173), sheathed in a series of superimposed arcades, is a more elaborate version of this type.
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Ravenna
The Basilica of Sant’Apollinare in Classe, begun in 535 and consecrated in 549, has a distinctive round campanile (870–878) that is the earliest example in Italy of the decorative use of majolica. This church also has impressive capitals in its nave and a fine apse mosaic depicting the…
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The Basilica of Sant’Apollinare in Classe, begun in 535 and consecrated in 549, has a distinctive round campanile (870–878) that is the earliest example in Italy of the decorative use of majolica. This church also has impressive capitals in its nave and a fine apse mosaic depicting the…
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religious symbolism and iconography
The symbolic process
…to be found in the S. Apollinare in Classe, near Ravenna (in Italy). On the other hand, there is a tendency to accumulate, combine, multiply, and differentiate symbolical statements for the same thought or circumstance, as seen, for example, on the sarcophagi (stone coffins) of late Christian antiquity—especially in Ravenna.…
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…to be found in the S. Apollinare in Classe, near Ravenna (in Italy). On the other hand, there is a tendency to accumulate, combine, multiply, and differentiate symbolical statements for the same thought or circumstance, as seen, for example, on the sarcophagi (stone coffins) of late Christian antiquity—especially in Ravenna.…
Read More