Madonna with Child and Saints

An exceptional find in 2010, discovered under the plaster, above what once was a front portico and three entryways with the famed wooden doorway from the Fifth Century at the center. At the center of the painting is the Virgin with Baby Jesus, at the sides are Saints Sabina and Serafia, who presents, at left, the two patrons, the archpriest Teodoro and the priest Giorgio (identified by the inscription), and at right the reigning pope, all three with the square halo of the living. Under the fresco were found the traces of a phony marble decoration dating back to the Fifth Century, period of  the first construction work on the Basilica.