Mausoleum of Theodoric

The Mausoleum of Theodoric (Italian: Mausoleo di Teodorico) is an ancient monument just outside Ravenna, Italy. It was built in 520 AD by Theodoric the Great, an Ostrogoth, as his future tomb.

Mausoleum of Theodoric
UNESCO World Heritage Site
LocationRavenna, Italy
Part ofEarly Christian Monuments of Ravenna
CriteriaCultural: i, ii, iii, iv
Reference788-007
Inscription1996 (20th session)
Area0.014 ha
Buffer zone21.6 ha
Coordinates44°25′30″N 12°12′33″E
Location of the mausoleum
Mausoleum of Theodoric (Italy)

Description

The mausoleum's current structure consists of two decagonal orders, one above the other and both made of Istria stone. Its roof is a single 230 tonne Istrian stone, 10 metres (33 ft) in diameter. A niche leads down to a room that was probably a chapel for funeral liturgies; an external stair leads to the upper floor. Located in the centre of the upper floor is a fragmentary ancient Roman porphyry tub, likely from a bath complex, in which Theodoric was buried. His remains were removed during Byzantine rule, when the mausoleum was turned into a Christian oratory. In the late 19th century, silting from a nearby rivulet that had partly submerged the mausoleum was drained and excavated.

Recognition

It was inscribed with seven other "Early Christian Monuments and Mosaics of Ravenna" buildings as one of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites in 1996. According to the ICOMOS evaluation, "the significance of the mausoleum lies in its Gothic style and decoration, which owe nothing to Roman or Byzantine art, although it makes use of the Roman stone construction technique of opus quadratum, which had been abandoned four centuries before" and in the fact that "it is the only surviving example of a tomb of a king of this period."[1]

References

See also

Further reading

  • Weitzmann, Kurt, ed., Age of spirituality: late antique and early Christian art, third to seventh century, no. 109, 1979, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, ISBN 9780870991790; full text available online from The Metropolitan Museum of Art Libraries
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