Ravenna, Basilica di Sant'Apollinare in Classe, Sinopia ritrovata sotto i mosaici absidali

The restoration of the apse mosaics of the Basilica of Sant'Apollinare in Classe, made from 1970 to 1976, discovered the preparatory drawings of a different iconographic program from the one executed in mosaic.
In place of the twelve lambs and the figure of Saint Apollinaris, the first idea was a band containing a cross in the center and on the sides pairs of peacocks between baskets of fruit, flowers and garlands.
The cross in the center and the left side of the sinopia were left in the Basilica while the right side was detached and it is now conserved in the National Museum of Ravenna.