Bishop Ecclesius commissioned the Byzantine Basilica of San Vitale in Ravenna.
Ecclesius began the project in the early sixth century, during the Ostrogothic period. The basilica was completed and consecrated in 548 under Bishop Maximian, after Ravenna had come under the rule of the Byzantine emperor Justinian I. The building’s octagonal form, galleries, marble revetment, and famous mosaics reflect the meeting of Roman, Byzantine, and local traditions.
A common mix-up is to name Maximian as the commissioner. Maximian supervised completion and appears in the famous imperial mosaic, but Ecclesius initiated the basilica. San Vitale is also frequently confused with Sant’Apollinare Nuovo, another major Byzantine monument in Ravenna.