The Mausoleum of Galla Placidia: a testament to what really matters in life
First impressions, they say, matter.
And from the outside, the Mausoleum of Galla Placidia in Ravenna doesn’t make much of an impression. Taking the form of a small, simple red brick building in the shape of a cross, with an entrance so low that you have to bend your head to get in, you could be forgiven for walking by it without a second glance.
But ignoring it would be a mistake, for when you get inside…
…the interior dazzles.
The first thing you notice is the fathomless starry sky covering the dome. Nine hundred stars made of deep Byzantium blue, vivid white and gold leaf tesserae, hang in eternal silence above you.
Then you start to notice the details below the stone sky: tiny alabaster windows, animals, doves drinking water, fruit baskets, and vine scrolls emerge. An image of Christ as the Good Shepherd among his flock sits above the entrance. These symbols, in different ways, represent the victory of life over death.
But why does this Unesco World Heritage monument have such a contrasting inside and outside? How could such staggering internal beauty be clothed in such a plain brick shell?
The answer rests in the character and beliefs of the woman who commissioned it.
The mausoleum was built in the middle of the 5th century by the empress Galla Placidia. She was born and raised into a noble family and unusually for her time, received an advanced education. She was a daughter, a sister, and a mother of Roman emperors and remained a major force in Roman politics for most of her life. Her name survived the millennia mostly thanks to her sponsorship of the building of churches at Ravenna, Rome, and Jerusalem.
Why would such a wealthy, powerful person, an empress at the very apex of the social hierarchy, want her own mausoleum to be built from plain, unremarkable Roman bricks? Why would such a sophisticated woman want such a seemingly unsophisticated-looking building as her eternal resting place? After all, we expect the rich and the powerful to broadcast their power and influence through buildings that are as remarkable on the outside as they are on the inside.
The mausoleum was a masterpiece of the interpretation of character and values. For all her worldly power, Galla Placidia believed in the importance of humility over pride. Pride, according to her, separates us from God and other people, while humility is a grace that attracts more grace. Humility helps one extend more compassion and empathy to others. One must be plain and humble on the outside, while nursing splendours on the inside. As the woman, so her building. What we see in the mausoleum of Galla Placidia is nothing less than a woman rendering her values into stone, to act as a testament to what really matters in life, for millennia to come.
Once sealed away behind locked doors, Galla Placidia’s mosaics now appear on countless souvenirs and postcards and act as ambassadors spreading the word far and wide about the treasures of this often-overlooked city and its history.
But the real treasure indeed lies in the ability of Galla to render in stone the timeless lesson that your inner treasure within outlasts any external power and wealth you have in this life.
