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 The art form of the mosaic is one that has been significant in religious
 practices for many different cultures, European Christianity being no
 exception. It is an art form of light, using the light shining upon the
 tiles to produce dazzling reflections. Like stained glass windows,
 mosaics are used in basilicas, cathedrals and tombs in order to take the
 “divine light” and cast it upon our becoming world. Dante no doubt saw
 this significance in the mosaics of Ravenna, and used them to assist him
 in his creation of Paradise. Dante acknowledges the beauty that light casts
 upon the world shortly after seeing Mars for the first time in Canto XIV:
 “So, here on earth, along a shaft of light that sometimes streaks the shade
 that men devise by means of arts and crafts for their protection, our eyes
 see particles of matter move straight or aslant, some swift, some floating
 slow – an ever-changing scene of shapes and patterns (Aligheri 171).”
 Dante uses the analogy of dust in a beam of light to express his wonder
 at the circle of Mars' glory, but this description contains some hints of
 mosaics as well: light, reflecting off a mosaic, may go “straight or
 aslant,” and can often be seen as “an ever-changing scene of shapes and
 patterns.” This passage can also remind one of the first tercet in Canto I:
 “The glory of the One Who moves all things penetrates all the universe,
 reflecting in one part more and in another less (Aligheri 1).” It would not
 be a surprise if it was found that Dante was looking at a mosaic in Ravenna
 while penning the first line of the Paradiso; the image of light reflecting
 more in some parts than others is the art form of the mosaic summed up.
 Because many of the original mosaics of Ravenna are still intact, we can
 see today what Dante himself studied in order to assemble a vision of Heaven
 that has been unparalleled since his writing of the Commedia 700 years ago.

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