Saint Agnes and Pope Honorius and Symmachus

This decorates the apse and is the oldest work in the Basilica. The three figures are placed on a gold background without the slightest characterizaton, giving the whole piece a strong sense of the immaterial, a regular aspect of byzantine art of the time. Above is the hand of the Holy Father, on the side, the Saint Pope Honorius, who commissioned the work, offering a model of the church to Saint Agnes for whom the church was named, while on the right, Pope Symmachus who rebuilt the church in Sixth Century, holds a book.