| The town is famous for its Norman Cathedral, one of the wonders of the medieval world, glittering with the gold tesserae of a thousand mosaics. |
| Another was Giacomo Rafaelli, who specialized in so-called micromosaics, which were made up of minute tesserae. |
| Even the smallest tesserae catch light and differentially bounce it off or cast shadows with their irregular thicknesses. |
| Next, we painted the surface with white gesso, which was used to reflect the colors of the glass tesserae back into the room. |
| Artificially squared tesserae of stone, terracotta, faience, and glass appear to be developments of the 3rd century bc. |
| For centuries historians believed the tesserae had been worn by gladiators on a chain or cord around their necks. |
