Galla Placidia - Public Works

Public Works

Placidia was a fervent Chalcedonian Christian. She was involved in the building and restoration of various churches throughout her period of influence. She restored and expanded the Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls in Rome and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem. She built San Giovanni Evangelista, Ravenna in thanks for the sparing of her life and those of her children in a storm while crossing the Adriatic Sea. The dedicatory inscription reads "Galla Placidia, along with her son Placidus Valentinian Augustus and her daughter Justa Grata Honoria Augusta, paid off their vow for their liberation from the danger of the sea."

Her Mausoleum in Ravenna was one of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites inscribed in 1996. However there is some doubt whether the building served as her tomb. The building was initially erected as a chapel dedicated to Lawrence of Rome. It is unknown whether the sarcophagi therein contained the bodies of the members of the Theodosian dynasty, or when they were placed in the building.

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