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Venice's long link with Constantinople is evident in the mosaics, in the Byzantine style, for which the islands of the lagoon are famous. The earliest are on Torcello, the first centre of the Venetian state, where the cathedral apse contains a superb 13th-century image of the Virgin and Child.
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Mosaic spreads through the Hellenistic world, and is brought by Greek craftsmen to Italy - as revealed in the amazing examples from Pompeii (for example, the dramatic image of Alexander and Darius in battle).
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The turning point for mosaic, as an art form, is the use of it by Christians to decorate the walls of churches rather than the floor. Two of the earliest examples are in Rome. Santa Costanza, built in about AD 350 as the tomb for a daughter of Constantine, has lively mosaics on pagan themes decorating its vault. More significant, as a foretaste of things to come, is the mosaic in the apse of Santa Pudenziana.
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The town of Ravenna becomes a place of importance early in the 5th century when the western emperor, Honorius, moves his capital there from Rome to escape the advancing Huns. Well fortified and with a safe harbour, it remains until 751 the place from which Byzantines and barbarians in turn administer Italy.
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he small palace chapel in Palermo, with its walls covered in bright pictorial mosaic, is one of the most exquisite buildings of the Middle Ages. Known as the Capella Palatina (Latin for 'palace chapel'), it is begun in 1132 and completed in about 1189.
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The cathedral of Monreale, close to Palermo, has mosaics on a much larger scale than those in the Capella Palatina. They date from the same period (though now considerably restored), but they are less delicate than the scenes in the royal chapel. They are probably the work of Sicilian craftsmen trained in the Byzantine tradition. Nevertheless the interior of Monreale is an impressive sight.
