Arcade -- S. Apollinarie in Classe, Ravenna

Speranza




S. Appolinare in Classe was built on the site of a temple of Apollo by Julianus Argentarius and consecrated in 549.

The columns are of rich marble surmounted by capitals the fantastic design of which is governed by pagan precedent, while transforming it.

It is based on the Roman composite capital though the classical acanthus decoration has undergone a strange transformation; the leaves beneath Ionic volutes and egg-and-dart motifs are irregularly disposed, more tightly furled and curiously compressed.