Pictured is a segment of the lower of three bands of mosaics on the left lateral wall of the Basilica of Sant Apollinare in Ravenna, Italy. This segment portrays the Three Magi. The Three Magi, Balthassar, Melchior and Gaspar are wearing trousers and Phrygian caps as a sign of their Oriental origin. The entire mosaic band is a procession of 22 Virgins led by the Three Magi proceeding from the city of Classe towards the group of the Madonna and Child surrounded by four angels. The Basilica was built by King Theodoric the Great in the early 6th century.
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