Mosaic

====Early Christian art====
{{Main|Late Antique and medieval mosaics in Italy}}
[[File:Mosaico di cristo in trono tra gli apostoli e le ss. prudenziana e prassede, 410 dc ca. 06.jpg|thumb|upright=1.8|Detail of a [[Paleochristian]] mosaic from the basilica of [[Santa Pudenziana]] in Rome, c. 410 AD, depicting Saint [[Pudentiana]]]]
With the building of Christian [[basilica]]s in the late 4th century, wall and ceiling mosaics were adopted for Christian uses. The earliest examples of Christian basilicas have not survived, but the mosaics of [[Santa Constanza]] and [[Santa Pudenziana]], both from the 4th century, still exist. The winemaking putti in the [[ambulatory]] of Santa Constanza still follow the classical tradition in that they represent the feast of [[Bacchus]], which symbolizes transformation or change, and are thus appropriate for a mausoleum, the original function of this building. In another great Constantinian basilica, the [[Church of the Nativity]] in [[Bethlehem]] the original mosaic floor with typical Roman geometric motifs is partially preserved. The so-called [[Tomb of the Julii]], near the crypt beneath [[St Peter's Basilica]], is a 4th-century vaulted tomb with wall and ceiling mosaics that are given Christian interpretations. The [[Arch of Galerius and Rotunda|Rotunda of Galerius]] in [[Thessaloniki]], converted into a Christian church during the course of the 4th century, was embellished with very high artistic quality mosaics. Only fragments survive of the original decoration, especially a band depicting saints with hands raised in prayer, in front of complex architectural fantasies.

In the following century [[Ravenna]], the capital of the [[Western Roman Empire]], became the center of late Roman mosaic art (see details in Ravenna section). [[Milan]] also served as the capital of the western empire in the 4th century. In the [[St Aquilinus]] Chapel of the [[Basilica of San Lorenzo, Milan|Basilica of San Lorenzo]], mosaics executed in the late 4th and early 5th centuries depict Christ with the Apostles and the Abduction of [[Elijah]]; these mosaics are outstanding for their bright colors, naturalism and adherence to the classical canons of order and proportion. The surviving apse mosaic of the [[Basilica of Sant'Ambrogio]], which shows Christ enthroned between Saint Gervasius and Saint Protasius and angels before a golden background date back to the 5th and to the 8th century, although it was restored many times later. The baptistery of the basilica, which was demolished in the 15th century, had a vault covered with gold-leaf tesserae, large quantities of which were found when the site was excavated. In the small shrine of San Vittore in ciel d'oro, now a chapel of Sant'Ambrogio, every surface is covered with mosaics from the second half of the 5th century. Saint Victor is depicted in the center of the golden dome, while figures of saints are shown on the walls before a blue background. The low spandrels give space for the symbols of the four Evangelists.

[[Albenga|Albingaunum]] was the main Roman port of [[Liguria]]. The octagonal baptistery of the town was decorated in the 5th century with high quality blue and white mosaics representing the Apostles. The surviving remains are somewhat fragmented. [[Massilia]] remained a thriving port and a Christian spiritual center in Southern Gaul where favourable societal and economic conditions ensured the survival of mosaic art in the 5th and 6th centuries. The large baptistery, once the grandest building of its kind in Western Europe, had a geometric floor mosaic which is only known from 19th century descriptions. Other parts of the episcopal complex were also decorated with mosaics as new finds, that were unearthed in the 2000s, attest. The funerary [[Abbey of St. Victor, Marseille|basilica of Saint Victor]], built in a quarry outside the walls, was decorated with mosaics but only a small fragment with blue and green scrolls survived on the intrados of an arch (the basilica was later buried under a medieval abbey).

A mosaic pavement depicting humans, animals and plants from the original 4th-century cathedral of [[Aquileia]] has survived in the later medieval church. This mosaic adopts pagan motifs such as the Nilotic scene, but behind the traditional naturalistic content is Christian symbolism such as the [[ichthys]]. The 6th-century early Christian basilicas of Sant' Eufemia [[:it:Basilica di Sant'Eufemia (Grado)]] and Santa Maria delle Grazie in [[Grado, Italy|Grado]] also have mosaic floors.{{sfn|Rentetzi|2008}}