The eye gets caught by the extraordinary mosaics of the apse, which are separated from the rest of the building through a dividing arch. Here we find the representations of the great protagonists of the Byzantine empire: Justinian, standing next to the archbishop Maximian, and his wife Theodora. Depicted with their respective processions carrying bread and wine for Eucharist, they highlight the ideology of Justinian’s age.The figures are dressed elegantly and are represented frontally in a rigid and hieratic position. Moreover, they are placed in a gold background as if they were immersed in a timeless space.Justinian and Theodora proceed with their dignitaries towards the centre of the apse where the figure of Christ Pantocrator emerges from a sea of golden tiles, sitting on a light blue globe and surrounded by two archangels. On his left there’s Ecclesius, which carries the model of the basilica in his hands; on the right instead there’s Saint Vitalis, the protector of Ravenna together with Saint Apollinaris.