Mausoleum of Theodoric

About this place

The Mausoleum of Theodoric is an ancient monument just outside Ravenna, Italy. It was built in AD 520 by Theodoric the Great, king of the Ostrogoths, as his future tomb. The mausoleum's current structure consists of two decagonal orders, one above the other, made of Istrian stone sourced from a quarry approximately 400 kilometres away by land journey. The mausoleum's roof consists of a single carved stone 10 metres in diameter weighing 230 tonnes. A niche leads down to a room that was probably a chapel for funeral liturgies; an external stair leads to the upper floor. Located in the centre of the upper floor is a fragmentary ancient Roman porphyry tub, likely from a bath complex, in which Theodoric was buried. Read the surviving remains as parts of a larger setting rather than isolated objects. Their positions, scale and materials can help you picture the activities that once took place here and distinguish ancient fabric from later reconstruction.