25 Beautiful Mosaics Around The World (PHOTOS)

The ancient art of mosaic has been used for thousands of years to decorate places of worship, from Roman temples to Byzantine cathedrals and Persian mosques. Today, mosaics are ubiquitous, though not any less beautiful, and can be seen in parks, subway stations, even people's houses.

Our pick of 25 mosaics around the world reflects famous historical pieces, as well as a peppering of contemporary styles. Feel free to add your favorites!

 

Send us pictures of beautiful mosaics around the world that you've seen!

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Battistero di San Giovanni, Florence, Italy

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Mosaic

Rank #2  |  Average: 4

So-so Beautiful!

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Comments

[Anne Lindberg]

02:08 PM on 11/22/2010

I forgot to mention that Keeley's Labyrinth, is in Los Angeles California and was designed by Lynn Goodpasture. The St. Thomas Mosaic was also done by Lynn Goodpasture. More images of her large scale public art works can be found at www.lynngoodpasture.com.

[Suzan Minor Bartels]

03:34 PM on 11/21/2010

Lovely feature, but you really missed out by not including Philadelphia's Magic Gardens- it's spectacular!!

[E David Sbragia]

09:38 PM on 11/16/2010

Lisa, you are good, very good. Like you, I am obsessed with the majesty of mosaics. I was introduced to them by my mother when I was a child in the early 1940’s. My Great Grandfather Tony Mazzolini was one of the many artists who worked on the absolutely astounding mosaics in the old Chicago Library (now known as the Chicago Cultural Center) in the late 1890’s. The building is located directly across from Millennium Park. It was the Tiffany Glass & Decorating Company under the Leadership of Louis Comfort Tiffany that produced and patented the favtile glass, mother-of -pearl mosaics of shimmering glass found in the more than 10,000 square feet of mosaics in that building by1897. What many do not know is the spectacular Tiffany glass dome in the Preston Bradley Hall is said to be the largest Tiffany dome in the world.
In the Air Force I was stationed in Izmir, Turkey, back in 1960-61 and saw and photographed some of the finest Greek, Roman, Byzantine, and Islamic artists of mosaics the Middle East has to offer to the eye. Later in life I have chased after my beautiful mosaic obsession and your 25 gives me a new dream.

[Gentleman Agitator]

09:06 AM on 11/16/2010

I always enjoy seeing public mural art, mosaic or otherwise. While the ancient works have their grander, I prefer seeing how (20th and 21st century) modern artists interpret the world around them. And art in subways and other transportation centers are always fascinating in my opinion. Art can be a great way to introduce an area to a traveler. One favorite of mine in America is the mosaics of Winold Reiss in Cincinnati's Union Terminal. The front door of a region, state or city or just the area of the next stop on the line; that is what public art can do.

[Lillian Sizemore]

07:24 PM on 11/15/2010

Great post Lisa! I've been traveling the world photographing mosaics for many years, and love your selections. So cool to see the mosaic meme replicating here on Huff Post of all places! I have a large public mosaic mural on view at 16th & Harrison in SF, (posted a photo here) - I also teach a variety of workshops. You might be interested in my walking guide to public mosaics in San Francisco. www.sfmosaic.com, and my current work is mixed-media mosaic mandalas. Would love to connect.

[Lisa Guerrero]

10:22 PM on 11/15/2010

Thanks Lillian! You can write me at my lisaguerrerodesigns.com site or my facebook fan page. I was in S.F. two weeks ago for the World Series. Wish I would've known about your walking tour then. I'm going back for the holidays so I'll be sure to check it out!!
Best!
Lisa G.

[bmermaid]

12:38 AM on 11/15/2010

There are beautiful mosaics at the Dallas Airport.

[deweydecimal]

07:11 PM on 11/14/2010

That Hitchcock mosaic is all kinds of epic win!

[Perry Clease]

06:02 PM on 11/14/2010

Nice collection Lisa, and nice work on that mermaid

[Lisa Guerrero]

10:13 PM on 11/14/2010

Thanks Perry! Very kind...

[Lisa Guerrero]

01:05 PM on 11/14/2010

These slides are amazing!

After visiting Barcelona 2 years ago and seeing Gaudi's mosaics everywhere, I was inspired to learn the technique. I took a workshop last year and now have a line of mosaics that I've created that have been shown at various galleries (now they're at the Jeanie Madsen Gallery in Santa Monica) and my series, "Lisa Guerrero's Kitchen Bitches" will be seen at Art Basel next month. You can view them at lisaguerrerodesigns.com.

Thanks HuffPo for highlighting this ancient and beautiful art!

[StChasDem]

07:09 AM on 11/14/2010

St. Louis Cathedral has the most mosaics in the U.S. I'm sure at least one is more beautiful than some in this list.

[JScott]

09:52 AM on 11/13/2010

In Southern California Millard Sheets made many notable mosaics mostly on old Home Savings buildings (now Chase). Scattered all around So. Ca. from Ventura to Palm Springs.

[Aida Dalati]

05:30 PM on 11/12/2010

How could you overlook the Damascus Umayyad Mosque and Al Aqsa in Jerusalem that are both built in the 8th century by father and son??

[Manal Khan]

10:49 PM on 11/12/2010

Ummayyad Mosque, #7?

[freddychef]

02:12 PM on 11/12/2010

#12, I actually have seen it while staying in Istanbul! kool.

[83cottager]

01:22 PM on 11/12/2010

Church of Our Savior on Spilled Blood, St. Petersburg

[vls8806]

12:39 PM on 11/12/2010

The mosaics featured in #1 and #16 are the same one. Both are parts of the ceiling in the baptistry of the duomo di Santa Maria del Fiore.