Cathedral Basilica of Saint Louis, Saint Luis, Missouri is known for its large mosaic installation. We were very impressed with the interior of the church. Mosaics are everywhere. They depict not only biblical scenes and important archdiocesan events, but also the life of King Louis IX of France, the namesake of the city. One of the largest collection of mosaics in the Western Hemisphere contains over 40 million glass tesserae pieces in more than 7,000 colors.
Most of the mosaics of the Saint Louis Cathedral are Byzantine style, like those from the 10th century in the Hagia Sophia in Istanbul, Turkey. Only two chapels here are in the Italian style. The difference between the two styles of mosaics is in the tesserae material. The Byzantine are made of colored glass. The glass tesserae reflect light. Italian mosaics are usually made of marble tiles that lack the reflection. However, the Italian-style mosaics from Saint Louis Cathedral were produced and installed by Tiffany. This company chose not to use marble, but simi-opaque glass tesserae to imitate marble.
