Basilica di Sant'Apollinare Nuovo. Built originally by Ostrogoth King Theodoric the Great as his palace chapel during the first quarter
of the 6th century' the church was originally dedicated in 504 AD to "Christ the Redeemer". It was reconsecrated in 561 AD, under the rule
of the Byzantine emperor Justinian I, under the new name "Sanctus Martinus in Coelo Aureo" ("Saint Martin in Golden Heaven"). The basilica
was renamed again in 856 AD when relics of Saint Apollinaris were transferred from the Basilica of Sant'Apollinare in Classe because of
the threat posed by frequent raids of pirates from the Adriatic Sea.
The building has been rebuit at various times, beginning in the 6th century with the destruction of mosaics whose themes were too overtly Arian
or which expressed the king's glory, but the mosaics of the lateral walls and twenty-four columns with simplified Corinthian capitals are preserved.
Renovations (and alterations) were done to the mosaics in the mid-19th century by Felice Kibel. The present apse is a reconstruction after being
damaged during World War I.