Ravenna - Battistero degli Ariani

The Battistero degli Ariani (Arian Baptistery) was erected by Theodorich the Great, after he had taken Ravenna in 493. The Ostrogoths and their King Theodorich were Arian Christs.

The Arian Baptistery is very much like the nearby (catholic/orthodox) Battistero Neoniano ("Baptistery of Neon") completed under Bishop Neon about 50 years earlier, but smaller.

After Byzantine Emperor Justinian's general Belisarius had taken Ravenna in 540, and after the condemnation of the Arian sect, this baptistery was converted into an oratory named Santa Maria. Orthodox monks added a monastery during the period of the Exarchate of Ravenna and further dedicated the structure to Saint Maria in Cosmedin.

Over the centuries the octagonal brick structure has sunken about 2,30 meters into the ground.

The mosaic of the baptistery´s dome. Seems a bit like a simplified copy of the mosaic of the Battistero Neoniano. Here the the diameter of the dome is smaller, so the composition had to be "simpler". While in the Neonano are two concentruc bands around the central medaillion, here is only one. The center is similar.

Christ standing up to his waist in the water of the River Jordan. Christ is young, beardless and - naked. Christ is flanked by John the Baptist and a personification of the River Jordan. The twelve apostles on the band around thie scene are devided in two groups. One group is led by Saint Peter, holding the keys, the other by Saint Paul, holding two scrolls. They are approaching a sumptious throne with an large purple cushion supporting a jeweled cross.