Early medieval fresco with figures of Saints

Photogallery

Early medieval fresco with figures of Saints
Early medieval fresco with figures of Saints
Mosaics of Ciriaca

This fragmentary fresco was a gift from the former mayor of Rome, Francesco Rutelli, to Pope John Paul II (1998); it was found on the slopes of the Colle Oppio from between 1890 and 1895, and it is possible that it originally decorated a place of worship near the Colosseum. Two saints are portrayed with broad haloes on their heads and dressed in tunics and richly decorated pallia; the first holds in his left veiled hand a book bearing the inscription “Initiu(m) sapient(iæ), the first words of a biblical verse ("the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom" Psalm 111, 10 Sir = 1.16); while the missing hand of the saint on the right, lost at the time of discovery, would seem to be holding the martyr's crown. The background is richly ornamented, at the top by a velarium (curtains) and at the bottom by a carpet with stylised decorations; in the centre, a palm appears to allude to the paradisiacal environment in which the scene takes place.