Bishop Maximian completed construction in 547, preceding Justinian's creation of the Exarchate of Ravenna, which followed his partial re-conquest of the Western Roman Empire.

San Vitale is of extreme importance in Byzantine art, as it is the only major church from the period of the Emperor Justinian I to survive virtually intact.

On the side walls the corners, next to the mullioned windows, have mosaics of the Four Evangelists, under their symbols (angel, lion, ox and eagle), and dressed in white.

The cross-ribbed vault in the presbytery is richly ornamented with mosaic festoons of leaves, fruit and flowers, converging on a crown encircling the Lamb of God.

The crown is supported by four angels, and every surface is covered with a profusion of flowers, stars, birds and animals, including many peacocks.

[citation needed] All these mosaics are executed in the Hellenistic-Roman tradition: lively and imaginative, with rich colours and a certain perspective, and with a vivid depiction of the landscape, plants and birds.

The apse mosaic centers on a youthful depiction of Jesus Christ, seated on a blue globe, robed in purple, flanked by angels, offering with his right hand the martyr's crown to Saint Vitale, while on his left Bishop Ecclesius offers a model of the church, in his role as the symbolic donor of the church.

On viewer left (but privileged right side from perspective of Christ in apse) is a mosaic depicting the East Roman Emperor Justinian I, clad in Tyrian purple with a golden halo, standing next to court officials, generals Belisarius and Narses, Bishop Maximian, palatinae guards and deacons.

The figures are placed in a V shape; Justinian is placed in the front and in the middle to show his importance with Bishop Maximian on his left and lesser individuals being placed behind them.

[11] On the opposite wall, the more elaborate panel shows Empress Theodora solemn and formal, with a golden halo, crown and jewels, and a group of court women as well as eunuchs.

The Empress holds the Eucharistic vessel for the Precious Blood, and her panel differs from that of Justinian in having a more complex background, with a fountain, cupola, and lavish hangings.

[13] One scholar[14] has argued that Theodora was depicted after her death in 548, but that theory has not been widely accepted due to other evidence that the mosaics were completed by 547 when the church was consecrated.