Spotlight on Thessalonika: Rotunda and Church of Saint Sophia
- Thessaloniki has fifthteen locations listed as “UNESCO World Heritage Site for Paleochristian and Byzantine Monuments”
- Ten of these locations are churches which makes Thessaloniki different from the other towns in Greece where ancient Greek temples are predominant
- Not only the Greek-Roman culture but also the Ottoman is present in Thessaloniki: Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, that created the modern Republic of Turkey, borned there in 1881
Thessaloniki is a city located in the north east of Greece on the Aegean See and specifically on the northern coast of the Thermaikos Gulf. It’s the second largest city in Greece, with the biggest university of the country (about 90000 students) and it has the second largest port in Greece. In addition to these main characteristics, it is a very old city founded in 315 B.C. and named as the sister of Alexander the Great, Thessaloniki. It´s inhabitants are known for their openness, maybe because they experienced not only the Greek-Roman culture (specifically Roman and Byzantine), but also the Ottoman, that indeed conquered the city in 1430 and ruled it until 1913, more than four hundred years. The relationship of the city with his Ottoman history is complex and with different feelings, but Thessaloniki remains a fundamental place for the turkish culture because it is the birthplace of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, who borned there in 1881 and created the modern Republic of Turkey. Anyway, it’s in my opinion the Byzantine culture and that excels in Thessaloniki and indeed the city is listed as UNESCO World Heritage Site for Paleochristian and Byzantine Monuments. The city offers fifteen locations listed as UNESCO sites, of which ten of them are churches, indeed my city guide when I visited the city, named Giorgos said “In Greece you can find temples everywhere, in Thessaloniki you find churches everywhere”.
Among all the UNESCO sites that it is possible to visit in Thessaloniki, two very important one particularly impressed me for their cultural richness and influences between different civilisations, which are again the Roman, Byzantine and the Ottoman. The two locations are the Rotunda and the Church of St.Sofia. As an historical anecdote, was interesting for me to discover that the expression “Byzantine” was introduced only in 1557 by the academic Hieronymus Wolf based in Augsburg (Germany), so the term was inserted after the fall of Constantinople which happened in 1453 by the Ottoman Sultan Mehmed II. The researcher coined the name to identify the East Roman Empire and surprisingly, it seems that he introduced the term in support of the Habsburg dynasty´s claim to be the true successor of the Roman Empire at the expense of the Ottoman, who were also claiming the same title after the conquer of Constantinople.
Rotunda
The Rotunda is domed with a circle-like structure and alongside more than sixteen centuries of life, it´s the oldest monument of Thessaloniki. The construction of the building was initiated in the early 4th century and attributed to the Roman Emperor Maximianus Galerius (250–311) who was a member of the Tetrarchy. This system was indeed put in place by Diocletian to rule the Roman Empire in four divisions, led by four rulers. The sovereign was divided into two Augustus and two Caesars, with Galerius guiding one of the four parts of the Empire as Augustus. Interesting is also to mention that there is an historical debate about the fact that was Costantine The Great (after 280–337) that build the Rotunda as a mausoleum for the members of the imperial family in Rome and also in the New-Rome (Constantinople) founded by him.
In the period between the late 4th century and 6th century, the Rotunda was converted into a Church and the evolution is shown by the addition of the Holy Bema/Sanctuary in the east side of the building. During the 7th to the 10th century, more intervention was made to the Sanctuary. In this time was indeed painted in the Rotunda the Ascension of Christ in the hollow of the Bema in 842 (after the end of the Iconoclasm, which was the period of the Byzantine Empire where were eliminated the veneration of icons). Between the 11th and 14th century the church was dedicated to the Archangels and the structure acted as cathedral of Thessaloniki from 1524 to 1590/91 after the transformation into a mosque of Hagia Sophia (Church of St.Sofia). In the same year, the Rotunda was converted into a mosque and stayed as it is until 1912. In this period was indeed added the mihrab in the Sanctuary, a fountain, a burial yard and the tall minaret on the right-side of the building. In the same year, the building was converted again into a church dedicated to Agios Georgios and much preservation work was performed throughout the years especially after the earthquakes of 1978 and 1991, mainly for the protection of the mosaics.
The mosaics still preserved today in the Rotunda decorate some arches of the monument and most importantly, three concentric zones on the cupola of the monument. The first part of the mosaics at the lower lever is composed by rich architectural structure imitating Hellenistic as well as Roman buildings and paintings of Rome and Pompei. The rich gold of the background gives a regal tone to the atmosphere and throughout the buildings appear figures of man of incredible beauty standing in a pose of prayer. Every man has his name, position and the month.
In the middle part of the mosaic not much is remaining. Nonetheless, in the upper part are still visible four archangels flying and hanging on the celestial sphere. Those archangels are also encircled with a garland accompanied by branches and fruits, enclosed with a rainbow arch and eight stars in the sky. In the center of the cupola ́s mosaic a profile of man is present, but only a part of the right hand is still preserved indicating an action of speech or victory. In addition, a piece of the bright halo and the extremity of the staff in the left hand is still conserved. Very interestingly, the experts say that most likely the central figure was Christ, but another theory supports the idea that Costantine the Great represented the central figure.
The other mosaics of the Rotunda are displayed in the arches with classical subjects of Greco-Roman art such as geometric sequences, birds and fruits. In the arch of the southern niche a cross is also present with a background of peacocks, fruits and geometrical forms.
Hagia Sophia (Church of St.Sofia)
The Church of St.Sofia is located in the center of Thessaloniki and it is the cathedral of the city. Since 1988 the monument has been listed as UNESCO World Heritage. The first Basilica was builded according to the archeologist in the 4th century under the Emperor Constantine the Great. Later on, a new bigger one replaced it between the end of the 5th century and the beginning of the 6th century AD. This last version was probably destroyed in the earthquake at the beginning of the 7th century. The present version of Hagia Sophia was erected at the end of 7th century with a Byzantine style architecture that has it´s most famous example with the Church of St.Sophia in Istanbul (or Constantinople during the Byzantine Empire). During 1523 and 1525, the Church was transformed into a mosque and after it remained an Orthodox Basilica for almost one century under the Ottoman Turks (who gained control of the city in 1430). In 1912 the Basilica returned as the Orthodox Cathedral of Thessaloniki when the city was liberated by the Greeks.
The second masterpiece of the Basilica is the mosaic of the cupola, which is one of the most significant pieces of art of the 9th century AD. Christ, at the center of the mosaic is supported by two angels that are represented as flying with an extraordinary technique. Unter the two angels is represented the Virgin Mary between two angels and the apostles all around the circle. The golden background is enriched by olive trees, palm trees and a rocky landscape. You can indeed see the trees between the figures and the stones all around the circle.
The third finest work is in the arch of the sanctuary and represents an enthroned Virgin Mary holding Christ in her arms. The pieces are dated back to the 12th century and the style looks similar to the mosaic of the Virgin Mary present in the Hagia Sophia in Istanbul, which is probably dated in the same period.
In the photo above that I took, you can see in front of the Virgin Mary holding Christ, that it is present a mosaic with a big cross that emits light in a decorated circle. This beautiful building belongs to the Iconoclasm period (8th century) when the painting portrayal of religious figures was forbidden in the Byzantine Empire.
Conclusions
Thessaloniki surprised me deeply in my heart. I found a modern and dynamic city mixing many cultures: the Greek, Ottoman and Latin one. The history of Thessalonika so rich, with a vast number of beautiful churches and stimulating activities to do, on the sea and in the city center. In particular, the Byzantine mosaics impressed me the most and they have a very important connection with the city of Ravenna (the Italian city of mosaics), which is one of my favourite historical cities in Italy. All in all, the inhabitants of Thessaloniki are welcoming and deliver a great energy.
For writing this article, I took inspiration from my visit to Rotunda and the content materials that they provide during the visit as well as a book that you can buy at Hagia Sophia for just 4 Euro that I highly recommend. Last but not least, I really appreciated the tour of the city centre as well as the historical sites with Giorgios (you can find his tour on freetour.com), full of precise, interesting information and valuable content to understand the Greek culture and the history of Thessaloniki.
References
Archim. Irenaeus Vogiatzies, Pr. Palaiogos Manos, Pr. Nikolaos Juganaru “The Church of Saint Sophia (“of The Wisdom of God”) The Cathedral of the City of Thessaloniki”
