Placidia

Placidia, which is the Church dei Santi Nazario e Celso (440), contains the best mosaics of Ravenna.

The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume 12: Philip II-Reuss 1840-1916 1913

Most of her time was now spent in Ravenna, but in February 450 Placidia went again to Rome with other members of her family to take part in celebrations in honor of St. Peter.

Caesars’ Wives Annelise Freisenbruch 2010

The body was thought to be that of Galla Placidia, for whom the building was named, one of the last empresses of the Roman Empire.

Caesars’ Wives Annelise Freisenbruch 2010

Placidia, however, apparently did not see it that way.

Caesars’ Wives Annelise Freisenbruch 2010

A description of the wedding of Athaulf and Placidia survives in a history written by a contemporaneous Eastern diplomat named Olympiodorus.

Caesars’ Wives Annelise Freisenbruch 2010

I am convinced by his reasoning that Galla Placidia and Theodosius are the two bodies found in 1458.

Caesars’ Wives Annelise Freisenbruch 2010

It fell to Placidia to try to prevent one from upsetting the equilibrium of power and thus threaten her son.

Caesars’ Wives Annelise Freisenbruch 2010

He relates that the ceremony took place at the townhouse of a leading local citizen of Narbonne named Ingenuus and was attended by a mixture of barbarian and Roman guests, including a senator, Priscus Attalus, who had been taken hostage by the Goths at the same time as Placidia and released early in a plea bargain.

Caesars’ Wives Annelise Freisenbruch 2010

Behind the cathedral of San Vitale lies the so-called Mausoleum of Galla Placidia, a tiny cruciform chapel of soft pink brick famous for its breathtaking interior wall mosaics and domed indigo ceilings spangled with glittering stars, described by one poet as a “blue night sparkled with gold.”

Caesars’ Wives Annelise Freisenbruch 2010

Thus by 433 Aetius had established an unassailable foothold by the canny courting of support from the Huns and succeeded in establishing an iron grip on the Western court that Placidia and Valentinian were powerless to loosen.68

Caesars’ Wives Annelise Freisenbruch 2010