Galla Placidia's mausoleum

The beautiful mausoleum was added to UNESCO's World Heritage List in 1996 because of its beautiful mosaics and their highly artistic design. The story goes that Galla Placidia, a fifth century AD Roman patron of the arts and half-sister of the Emperor, intended the building as a mausoleum for herself and her family. The mausoleum contains three sarcophagi, but there is still not clear evidence that they were also the Placidia family. Galla Placidia was buried in the family chapel in St Peter's, so who was buried in the three sarcophagi? Get the fascinating story served up in the mausoleum under the stunning starry sky of the mausoleum's dome. The decoration in the Mausoleum of Galla Placidia is simply sumptuous and there are depictions of the Apostles and the saint Lazarus while Jesus appears as the Good Shepherd. After the visit, it is much easier to understand why the Mausoleum of Galla Placida is on UNESCO's list.