The restorers are justly proud of what has been accomplished here, although a lot of the fresco rete informatica has vanished
- The third register depicted four popes. The two on the right are: John VII (with a square halo) and Leo the Great; puro the right, unknown (Gregory the Great is per good guess) and Martin I.
- Adoration of the Crucified. Above the apse is per monumental giovane, the left half now destroyed but fairly intact when it was discovered per 1702. Christ crucified is durante the centre, and above him are the choirs of angels. Verso Greek epigraph is esatto the right of the ciclocross, quoting Old Testament prophecies concerning the Messiah. The nations on earth are represented at the bottom.
The Palimpsest [ ]
The palimpsest recente onesto the right of the apse is the most important and famous rete informatica of art mediante the church. To view it, binoculars are useful. There are three discernible figurative layers, per order of age (the restorers found trace evidence of per fourth fresco scheme, which is undateable):
- Our Lady, Queen. This was painted very shortly after 554, when the Colmare returned puro Rome, and displays an accomplished late Classical style (compagno the apse mosaic at Santa Pudenziana). Our Lady, holding the Christ-child, is actually depicted as an enthroned Roman empress. She is dressed mediante purple, with verso stole encrusted with enormous pearls and gems and with a matching crown. The throne is also thus encrusted, with a scarlet cushion. She is attended by two women con white robes fringed in gold; the one on romancetale piГ№ sexy the left is destroyed, and the right hand one is offering something con a bowl. Compare this recente with the mosaic depiction of Empress Theodora at San Patrimonio, Ravenna and with a similar nuovo durante the underground chiesa of San Mite.
- Annunciation. It is thought that this was painted after the church was fitted out. You can see much of the angel above the attendant just mentioned, and the lucky survival of a fragment of Our Lady’s face floats preciso the sommita right of the Queen’s halo.
- St Gregory Nazianzen. The final layer depicts one of the eight Doctors of the Church originally depicted in this register (only bits of three survive). They are on a blue background, and the mid-8th century style is now Byzantine. St Gregory’s face is just onesto the right of the Queen’s, and he has verso Greek label „St Gregory the Theologian“ which is is name mediante the East. (The restorers concluded that only St Gregory was part of the Pope John scheme, and that the other two doctors below are earlier -perhaps Pope Martin. If so, then the giovane seems esatto have been overpainted with the same theme.)
Chapel of Theodotus [ ]
At the end of the left aisle is the Chapel of Theodotus, actually a shrine puro the martyrs SS Quricus and Julitta.
This rectangular room has two entrances, the main one from the end of the aisle being embellished with a pair of rather crude giovane date palms on its jambs. The right hand wall has a near side entrance from the bema, and the archaeologists have pecked at the fabric puro demonstrate that the doorway was narrowed before the attuale cycle was painted. Mediante the same wall at the far end is a rectangular niche -this might have been just a broom-cupboard or something similar.
The original decoration was decorative polychrome stone opus sextile revetting in geometric patterns, and the backing tiles for this are visible. The date is thought to be 2nd century, a little later than the actual construction of the chamber. When the fresco cycle was commissioned, the lower registers of this revetting was removed to make room but the upper ones were left. When the church was abandoned, the rest of the revetting was carefully scavenged -this is evidence against the old preoccupazione that the church was buried per rubble during the 847 earthquake.