| The Mosaics |
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The mosaic masters of those times used two different tesseras to compose the figures and the drawings on these exceptional floor coverings: Opus vermicellatum, small irregular tesseras, and Opus tesselatum, tesseras of approximately 1 centimeter. Instead, the floor of the Basilica is covered with Opus sectile, pieces of rare marble. The themes of the mosaic decorations can be divided into: geometric drawings, used in the rooms used for storage or those used by the servants; drawings of real figures, local, African, Indian and Asiatic animals; male and female figures dressed with clothes typical of those times; and mythological figures: Ulysses and Polyphemus, the labours of Hercules, Ambrosia and Lycurgus, Eros and Pan, Arione and Orpheus.
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