Aquileia, Italy

This morning we visited Aquileia, or more precisely the historic basilica there. The original church dates back to the 4th century, and there are some mosaics near the bell tower based that are probably from that era. The main part of the church is from the 11th and 14th centuries. While working on the church, they discovered beautiful mosaics under many more recent floors. Behind the church is the the Crypt of Frescoes with beautifully painted frescoes.

In 2000, they built a glass walkway, so people would not have to walk on the mosaics. The glass walkways were nicely designed and don’t touch the mosaics at all. In the main part of the church, they are supported by the columns. In an underground portion, the glass walkways are supported by steel wires attached to the ceiling.

Basilica di Aquileia
The basilica from the front door entrance with mosaic floor
The Apse
Portrait mosaic in the floor
Mosaic of an animal
Octopus and fish mosaics
Basket of snails mosaic in the crypt of excavations
Crypt of Frescoes
Crypt of excavations
Glass walkway supported by column and cantilevered from support near wall
Bridge over mosaics at front door
Glass walkway supported by columns
Glass walkway at front door spanned over the mosaics