The Museo Nazionale di Ravenna is located in the monumental complex of San Vitale in the heart of the city's historic center. Inside the rooms of the Museo Nazionale di Ravenna, important archaeological finds are exhibited, including funerary steles, Roman inscriptions, and collections of minor arts. The original nucleus that gave life to the museum's heritage was created in the 18th century, with patient research and care, by the erudite monks of the great city abbeys. On the first floor, within the orderly Benedictine architecture, you can admire graceful Renaissance bronzes, a fascinating collection of ivories, a rich nucleus of icons, a section dedicated to ceramics, and a valuable collection of ancient weapons. Among the artifacts that can be visited are the capitals in oriental marble, decorated sarcophagi, and other artifacts from the 5th and 6th centuries. The most famous ones come from the UNESCO World Heritage paleochristian and Byzantine monuments: among these, the chancel screens and the cross from San Vitale and the preparatory sinopia for the mosaic of Sant'Apollinare in Classe. The museum also houses the important cycle of 14th-century frescoes, a masterpiece by Pietro da Rimini, detached from the ancient church of Santa Chiara in Ravenna.