Which Byzantine church in Ravenna contains a mosaic showing Emperor Justinian with Bishop Maximian?
Answer
Basilica of San Vitale
Answer
Basilica of San Vitale
The Basilica of San Vitale in Ravenna contains the mosaic showing Emperor Justinian with Bishop Maximian.
The panel appears on the north wall of the apse and presents Justinian at the center of a formal imperial procession. Bishop Maximian stands beside him, identified by an inscription. Soldiers, clergy, and courtiers complete the scene, while the opposite wall shows Empress Theodora and her attendants.
These mosaics do not record a visit by Justinian to Ravenna; the emperor is represented symbolically as the ruler who supported the Byzantine reconquest of Italy. Their shimmering gold backgrounds and frontal figures are characteristic of sixth-century imperial Christian art. San Vitale’s mosaics are among the best-preserved visual statements of Byzantine authority in the western Mediterranean.
Source: Wikipedia · fact-checked Sept. 2026