"Built by Theoderic as the Royal Palace chapel, S. Apollinare Nuovo probably dates back to the late 5th or 6th century. It was built next to the palace which was restructured by the Gothic king, it must have been used as a palatine basilica and it can be considered as the most prestigious among the Arian churches. After the Byzantine reconquest and after the Justinian's Edict (561) its patron became St. Martin, Archbishop of Tours, famed for his staunch opposition to all heresies and to Arianisme in particular. The splendour of its gilded ceilings gave it the name of St. Martin of the Golden Sky. According to tradition, the remains of St. Apollinare, martyr and founder of the Ravenna Church, were brought there in the 9th century, and the church took his name with the word "Nuovo" added to distinguish it from another church of the same name in the city. In the 10th century the church was entrusted to the Benedictine monks and therefore entrusted to the Friars Minor Observants of S. Francesco, who carried important works. The round 10th century campanile, so typical of Ravenna, standing at the far right of the portico, lightened by the elegant apertures which, from the uppermost orders of trifora become orders of single apertures nearer the foot. The 16th century portico of the facade replaced the old narthex. In the 17th century the present gilded lacunar was rebuilt. The basilica, it is made of bricks, is characterized by a great architectonical simplicity.Twenty four columns of Greek marble divide the interior into a nave and two aisle, the nave ending in a rounded apse - polygonal externally -. A very rich decoration must have characterized the interior part of the basilica, built with marbles in its lower part, stuccos, disappeared after the works of the 16th century. The present mosaics cover the two side walls at the foot of the nave, from the ceiling to the top of the supporting arches, in three decorative fascias. The outer band depicts a Procession of Martyrs and Virgins; the centre one filling the areas between the windows, depicts majestic white-robed male figures (probably prophets), while the innermost fascia shows the Miracles and Passion of Christ. The Christ scenes occupy 26 panels, thirteen on each side, interspersed with other panels repeating the same symbolic motifs. Towards the foot of the right wall, the city of Ravenna is seen behind Theodoric's palace. A Procession of 26 Martyrs leads from the palace to the apse: each haloed martyr has his name inscribed above; the figures emerge from a golden background and wending its way towards the Enthroned Christ, in an attidude of blessing, flanked by four archangels. On the left wall facing the palace and the city is the Civitas Classis. From the city of Classe, the walls of which contained the images of five personages removed by Agnello and substituted with gold, a Procession of Virgins moves towards the throne of the Madonna. Many artists must have taken part in the mosaic work of S. Apollinare Nuovo, for a number of different hands are distinguishable in the variations of line, style and those slight effects by which, from natural reality, one reaches the metaphysical abstract of the communion with the mysteries, expressed as though in the cadence of a liturgical chant."
Informationstafel vor Sant'Apollinare Nuovo, Ravenna, engl. Text