Talk:Mausoleum of Galla Placidia

Old Talk
The Mausoleum of Galla Placidia Augusta, daughter of emperor Theodosius I, sister of emperors Honorius and Arcadius, and mother of emperor Valentinian III, stands in Ravenna adjacent to the Basilica of San Vitale. The Mausoleum of Galla Placidia, built between the years of 425 and 450 C.E., is constructed of brick and mortar, a style common to the years following the fall of Rome to Alaric; years in which the technique of building with concrete was all but lost to the western world. The Mausoleum, thought to be originally intended as a chapel, is designed in the shape of a Latin cross and, although the exterior of the Mausoleum is plain, unadorned brickwork, the interior is renouned for the vivid mosaics that adorn the lunettes and cupola. The interior mosaics, in the cupola, depict a gilted, starry sky comprised of concentric circles around a central cross with the insignia of each of the four Evangelists adorning each of the four corners while the lunettes are adorned with depictions of the eight remaining Apostles and nature scenes. While adjacent to the Basilica of San Vitale, which itself contains rich mosaics depicting the emperor Justinian and empress Theodora and was constructed employing the same materials and in a similar manner as the Mausoleum, the Mausoleum of Galla Placidia predates the Basilica by roughly a century making it the oldest example of Early Christian architecture in Ravenna. It is not certain whether the remains of Galla Placidia Augusta reside within the Mausoleum.

Vito P. Quattrocchi sicboi81@hotmail.com

The article contains no date of construction!
I know when it was built, and I see very good and concise information in the "Old talk" section above. Why hasn't THAT been used? It's unfathomable why anyone would leave out the most important piece of information concerning a building. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 86.61.33.138 (talk) 18:12, 9 June 2012 (UTC)


 * Because it's completely unreferenced. -- Elphion (talk) 18:53, 9 June 2012 (UTC)

Unsourced quotation, allegedly from UNESCO
The UNESCO experts describe it as "the earliest and best preserved of all mosaic monuments, and at the same time one of the most artistically perfect". [citation needed]

This sentence does not exist in the UNESCO citation given. It has sat unsourced since 10:08, 22 February 2006: https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Mausoleum_of_Galla_Placidia&direction=next&oldid=34005456 — Preceding unsigned comment added by GPinkerton (talk • contribs)


 * There are many places where that sentence does not exist, but the edit summary for that 14 year old edit clearly sources it to the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) advisory body evaluation performed when the "Early Christian Monuments of Ravenna" were designated as a World Heritage Site in 1996. Back then, editors were not so keen as nowadays on the thin veneer of respectability presented by a smattering of superscript footnotes.  It was the work of mere seconds to locate the source on the UNESCO website at https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/788/documents/ or more specifically here (top of the second page, which is numbered 59, if you are still struggling to find it).  You might have received a quicker response if you had tried to elicit the source from the original editor, Ghirlandajo, who is still editing from time to time.  I see you've been editing for at least two years, and I trust you already know how to sign your posts on a talk page, so please excuse me reminding you to add four tildes ( that is   ) to add your user name and a timestamp. Happy editing. Theramin (talk) 02:14, 19 March 2020 (UTC)
 * Is that what you call on display in my local planning department? I did look through it before but I must have missed it. I was especially dubious because, while perfect, it certainly isn't "the earliest of all mosaic monuments" by a good many centuries. I'm not keen to add it back in for this reason, but thank you for finding it. GPinkerton (talk) 23:55, 16 April 2020 (UTC)