Rotunda of Galerius (Agios Georgios)

The Rotunda of Galerius, also known as Agios Georgios, stands on Agiou Georgiou Square just off Egnatia street in Thessaloniki, Greece. Built in the early fourth century AD, it was probably planned as a mausoleum for the Roman emperor Galerius, part of the imperial complex that also included the palace and the nearby arch. It was later converted into a Christian church, and then into a mosque in the Ottoman period, and the surviving minaret beside the building is a reminder of that phase. The brick structure is remarkable for its scale: the cylindrical walls are around six metres thick, and the interior is capped by a large dome that rises roughly thirty metres. Inside, the plain brick surfaces contrast with fragments of early Christian mosaics in the dome and niches, where bands of saints and architectural motifs in gold and colour survive from the fifth century. A central oculus lets daylight fall onto the floor, and the empty, echoing space is the main experience rather than a collection of objects. Visitors can walk around the interior, view the mosaic fragments, and see the minaret and the small exhibition spaces attached to the monument. A visit typically takes thirty to forty-five minutes. The best time is the morning, when daylight enters the dome and groups are fewer, and the building is closed on Tuesdays. Photography of the dome works best from the centre of the floor looking upward, and the exterior is easiest to photograph from the square. The Rotunda is a short walk from the Arch of Galerius and the Palace of Galerius, so many visitors combine the three monuments in a single route through this part of Central Macedonia's capital.