St Catherine of Alexandria, painted on the arch of a chapel overlooking the cave of St Benedict at the extraordinary Sacro Speco in Subiaco. Beyond the arch is the cave where Benedict is traditionally said to have spent three years living as a hermit. In this dark and solemn space I couldn't help but feel a sense of wonder at the beauty surrounding me, though I do wonder what Benedict himself would have thought about such lavish decoration around his place of quiet contemplation 🤔

One of the intriguing mysteries of San Clemente in Rome is this 8th century fresco of the Madonna and Child. Or perhaps it wasn't originally the Madonna. One theory proposes that the figure may have begun as a portrait of the Byzantine Empress Theodora, painted around the 540s, before being transformed into the Virgin. The theory rests partly on her strikingly imperial appearance and resemblance to Theodora's famous mosaic at San Vitale in Ravenna. It's far from proven, though. The surviving fresco itself is generally dated to circa 750. Still, it's a fascinating possibility.