Sant' Apollinare Nuovo

Our first stop after buying a combined ticket to the UNESCO sites is Sant’ Apollinare Nuovo, a huge, cold, and rather austere church, except for the mosaics, which are wonderful but rather high above us and distant. 

At the front of the church to the left of the altar area, there is a chapel decorated with Baroque-style sculptures and decoration. It makes quite a contrast with the very formal and somewhat impersonal mosaics. The altar area seems to be trying to integrate the two aesthetic modes, with ancient pillars and an ornate altarpiece. 
​