Italy 2007 Day 4 Justinian's people in Ravenna

If you look up in the church of San Vitale, you can see what we have lost in church decoration.  Of course this is an Imperial church and probably had the benefit of artists and craftsmen from Constantinople.  I am sure a church what must establish the power of the court in Constantinople is pulling out the stops in producing one of the most impressive decorative interiors in the history of the Christian church.  It also underscores what the Late Roman decoration had become.   We can thank Justinian and most likely his underpaid and overworked artists.