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In the early Christian period, the most important buildings were the tombs and mausoleums of Saints and other holy figures. The Romans tended to build circular or octagonal ambulatory (where the worshippers walked around a central shrine or tomb). Christians also commandeered the long hall-like basilica (originally a secular building) for churches. Basilicas could however hold more worshippers and they became increasingly popular in the west. In the 6th century during Justinian's building spree the idea of the ambulatory church that would surround the central mystery of communion developed (although it was fairly impractical). St Sophia was the ultimate expression of that idea. San Vitale was another regional expression of an idea that had achieved its pinnacle and would soon be superceded.
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Western Europe
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