Saint Apollinare's Cross
6th Century Mosaic

The Basilica of Sant' Apollinare of Ravenna, Italy, was consecrated on May 9, 549 AD, shortly after the city had been reconquered by the Eastern Roman Empire, Byzantium. They had the wealth of the empire and the craftsmen and the fervent faith to construct gorgeous churches. This Basilica is a masterpiece of antiquity, listed at UNESCO as a world heritage site.

According to tradition, St. Apollinare was consecrated by St. Peter and sent to Ravenna, a major Roman city. He was their first bishop, and was thrown out of town several times by angry pagans, but he kept returning. Finally, he was martyred in the city. His relics remain in the basilica that bears his name.

This mosaic cross is in the apse of the basilica. You can see the hand of God at the top, coming out of the void. Moses and Elijah are above the Cross, and below is Saint Apollinare. It took us a long time to fashion this image, as it's tricky to flatten what is a round image and keep a perspective on it. To our knowledge, as with many of our images, this is the only likeness of this beautiful mosaic cross available anywhere. We hope its beauty helps you meditate on the Faith and the price that was paid to bring it to us.

We hope to soon offer a hand-made medal of the central Cross as a pendant.

The interior picture which we show for interest was taken by Vanni Lazzari who offers it via Wikimedia with a Creative Commons Attribution License, for which we are grateful.

** IMPORTANT ** THE IMAGE IS SMALLER THAN THE PAPER! There is a white border all around the image of about .5" for 5x7, 1.3" for 8.5x11, 1.6" for 11x14, and 1.75" for 13x17". All Approx! The white space around picture means the image is smaller than the paper. It gives the framed picture a matted look without using a matt.

- Acid-free paper
- Archival pigments, rated to last for generations.
- Cardboard backer
- Above story of the art
- Enclosed in a tight-fitting, crystal clear bag.

Thanks for your interest!

Thanks!
Sue & John

"In order to communicate the message entrusted to her by Christ, the Church needs art." ~ St. Pope John Paul II

Original image is out-of-copyright. Descriptive text and image alterations (hence the whole new image) © by Sue Kouma Johnson - Classic Catholic Art.