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The Catacombs of Rome ( it, Catacombe di Roma) are ancient catacombs, underground burial places in and around
Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...
, of which there are at least forty, some rediscovered only in recent decades. Though most famous for Christian burials, either in separate catacombs or mixed together, Jews and also adherents of a variety of pagan Roman religions were buried in catacombs, beginning in the 2nd century AD,Toynbee: 39–40. occasioned by the ancient Roman ban on burials within a city, and also as a response to overcrowding and shortage of land. The most extensive and perhaps the best known is the Christian
Catacomb of Callixtus The Catacomb(s) of Callixtus (also known as the Cemetery of Callixtus) is one of the Catacombs of Rome on the Appian Way, most notable for containing the Crypt of the Popes ( Italian: ''Cappella dei Papi''), which once contained the tombs of sev ...
located near the
Park of the Caffarella The Caffarella Park ( it, Parco della Caffarella) is a large park in Rome, Italy, protected from development. It is part of the ''Parco Regionale Appia Antica'' ( Appian Way Regional Park). The park is contained in the Caffarella Valley and is bo ...
, but there are other sites, both Christian and not, scattered around the city, some of which are now engulfed by modern
urban sprawl Urban sprawl (also known as suburban sprawl or urban encroachment) is defined as "the spreading of urban developments (such as houses and shopping centers) on undeveloped land near a city." Urban sprawl has been described as the unrestricted growt ...
. The Christian catacombs are extremely important for the
history History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...
of Early Christian art, as they contain the great majority of examples from before about 400 AD, in fresco and
sculpture Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable ...
, as well as gold glass medallions (these, like most bodies, have been removed). The
Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
catacombs are similarly important for the study of Jewish culture at this early period.


Etymology

The word ''catacombs'' comes from the Latin root word ''catatumbas'' meaning either “among the tombs” or, according to other translations from the original
Late Latin Late Latin ( la, Latinitas serior) is the scholarly name for the form of Literary Latin of late antiquity.Roberts (1996), p. 537. English dictionary definitions of Late Latin date this period from the , and continuing into the 7th century in t ...
, “next to the quarry”. The later translation stems from the first excavations done to create the catacombs system, which was conducted outside of Rome near the quarry.


Precursors

The
Etruscan civilization The Etruscan civilization () was developed by a people of Etruria in ancient Italy with a common language and culture who formed a federation of city-states. After conquering adjacent lands, its territory covered, at its greatest extent, rou ...
dominated a territory including the area which now includes Rome from perhaps 900 to 100 BC. Like many other European peoples, it had buried its dead in excavated underground chambers, such as the Tomb of the Capitals, and less complex
tumuli A tumulus (plural tumuli) is a mound of earth and stones raised over a grave or graves. Tumuli are also known as barrows, burial mounds or ''kurgans'', and may be found throughout much of the world. A cairn, which is a mound of stones built ...
. In contrast, the original Roman custom had been
cremation Cremation is a method of final disposition of a dead body through burning. Cremation may serve as a funeral or post-funeral rite and as an alternative to burial. In some countries, including India and Nepal, cremation on an open-air pyre is ...
of the human body, after which the burnt remains were kept in a pot, urn, or ash-chest, often deposited in a
columbarium A columbarium (; pl. columbaria) is a structure for the reverential and usually public storage of funerary urns, holding cremated remains of the deceased. The term can also mean the nesting boxes of pigeons. The term comes from the Latin "''colu ...
or ''dovecote''. Rome faced two problems in the 2nd century CE: overpopulation and a lack of land. The city was growing, and many of the buildings were four or five stories tall. Since burials were not allowed inside the city walls, and early Christians did not agree with the pagan practice of cremating their dead, communal underground cemeteries provided a practical alternative. From about the 2nd century AD, inhumation (burial of unburnt human remains) became customary, either in graves or, for those who could afford them, in
sarcophagi A sarcophagus (plural sarcophagi or sarcophaguses) is a box-like funeral receptacle for a corpse, most commonly carved in stone, and usually displayed above ground, though it may also be buried. The word ''sarcophagus'' comes from the Greek ...
, often elaborately carved. By the 4th century, burial had overtaken cremation as the usual practice, and the construction of tombs had grown greater and spread throughout the empire. Jews and Christians preferred burial due to the idea of preserving the dead body for the resurrection. Considerable tracts of the ancient roads leading out of Rome and other Roman cities, like the
Via Appia The Appian Way (Latin and Italian: ''Via Appia'') is one of the earliest and strategically most important Roman roads of the ancient republic. It connected Rome to Brindisi, in southeast Italy. Its importance is indicated by its common name, ...
to this day, had monumental tombs running alongside them. These would inevitably cost a fortune to construct, whereas clearly in digging out of the catacombs would be less expensive. Despite widespread popular modern ideas, these tunnels were probably not used for regular worship at first, but simply for burial. However, extending pre-existing Roman customs, memorial services, and celebrations of the anniversaries of Christian
martyr A martyr (, ''mártys'', "witness", or , ''marturia'', stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an externa ...
s took place there. There are sixty known subterranean burial chambers in Rome. They were built outside the walls along main Roman roads, like the
Via Appia The Appian Way (Latin and Italian: ''Via Appia'') is one of the earliest and strategically most important Roman roads of the ancient republic. It connected Rome to Brindisi, in southeast Italy. Its importance is indicated by its common name, ...
, the Via Ostiense, the
Via Labicana The Via Labicana was an ancient road of Italy, leading east-southeast from Rome. It seems possible that the road at first led to Tusculum, that it was then extended to Labici, and later still became a road for through traffic; it may even have su ...
, the
Via Tiburtina Via Tiburtina is an ancient road in Italy leading east-northeast from Rome to Tivoli (Latin, Tibur) and then, with the via Valeria, on to Pescara (Latin, Aternum). Historical road It was probably built by the Roman censor Marcus Valerius Maxi ...
, and the
Via Nomentana Via Nomentana is an ancient road of Italy, leading North-East from Rome to Nomentum (modern Mentana), a distance of . It originally bore the name "Via Ficulensis", from the old Latin village of Ficulea, about from Rome. It was subsequently exte ...
. Names of the catacombs – like St Calixtus and St Sebastian, which is alongside Via Appia – refer to martyrs that may have been buried there. However, about 80% of the excavations used for Christian burials date to after the time of the persecutions.


Discoveries

Through research, it has been found that the population's diet consisted of freshwater fish. Sample D9-W-XVI-8, considered to be a two-year-old child, shows that children in Ancient Rome were breastfed and this child, in particular, had not yet been weaned off its mother. This results from the fact that the δ15N values had not begun to decline. Fish had intertwined secular and religious aspects in Roman society. For one thing, it was a staple of the daily diet. It also had a variety of significance for Christians, for whom it was not only a common food, as for other Romans, but featured as a symbol in Christian iconography and was consumed at meals held to commemorate the dead.


Christian catacombs

Roman law Roman law is the legal system of ancient Rome, including the legal developments spanning over a thousand years of jurisprudence, from the Twelve Tables (c. 449 BC), to the '' Corpus Juris Civilis'' (AD 529) ordered by Eastern Roman emperor Ju ...
forbade burial places within city limits and so all burial places, including the catacombs, were located outside the walls of the city. The first large-scale catacombs in the vicinity of Rome were dug from the 2nd century onwards. They were carved in ''"tufa"'' (
tuff Tuff is a type of rock made of volcanic ash ejected from a vent during a volcanic eruption. Following ejection and deposition, the ash is lithified into a solid rock. Rock that contains greater than 75% ash is considered tuff, while rock ...
), a type of
volcanic rock Volcanic rock (often shortened to volcanics in scientific contexts) is a rock formed from lava erupted from a volcano. In other words, it differs from other igneous rock by being of volcanic origin. Like all rock types, the concept of volcanic ...
which is relatively soft to dig into but subsequently hardens. Christian catacombs existed as a burial ground for early Christians accompanied by inscriptions and early wall art. Although catacombs were of Jewish origin in the first century, by the end of the sixth century there were over 60 Christian catacombs. These catacombs served as a connector for various Christian communities through the underlying concepts of socio-economic status shown within the art. Additionally, the art showed a story of how Christians in the first couple of centuries viewed the world and their idealistic view of how it should be. According to L. Michael White, the catacombs of Rome have a place in the romantic
historiography Historiography is the study of the methods of historians in developing history as an academic discipline, and by extension is any body of historical work on a particular subject. The historiography of a specific topic covers how historians ha ...
of how early Christianity developed. This is because it has often been said those catacombs were good hiding places, and that when Christians were persecuted by the Roman Empire, they would go there to hold their worship. However, White believes Christians did not use the catacombs of Rome to secretly hold their worship during times of persecutions. He says that they did not do so, first because Christians were not persecuted on a regular basis by the Roman Empire. Second, because the larger rooms or chambers within the catacombs were not used for regular
worship Worship is an act of religious devotion usually directed towards a deity. It may involve one or more of activities such as veneration, adoration, praise, and praying. For many, worship is not about an emotion, it is more about a recogniti ...
, eucharist or assembly by Christians. White says that those catacombs' larger rooms, which had some benches along their walls and were appropriate to hold eucharistic assemblies, were in fact used by Christians to "hol meals for the dead." He states such "funerary meals" were practised among most families of the city of Rome. Therefore, he explains, Christians, in their everyday life, regularly went down into the catacombs of Rome, not to hold assemblies or eucharist but, "to hold memorial meals with dead members of their families, just like their pagan neighbors." V. Rutgers considers that " searchers have long debunked the myth that Christians used the catacombs as hiding places in times of persecution", because when those persecutions took place, the exact locations of the catacombs of Rome were widely known. Frank K. Flinn considers that during the period of Christian persecutions and shortly after it, Christians held "memorial rites and Eucharist" near the graves of the more famous Christian martyrs. He adds that " ntrary to novel and movie lore," the catacombs of Rome "were not used as hiding places for Christians." Author J. Osbourne says that "nothing could be further from the truth." when discussing the idea that Christians inhabited the Catacombs during the period of persecution. Christian art in the catacombs is split into three categories: iconographic, stylistic, and technical. From the first to the sixth century, the art in Roman Christian catacombs progressively went into phases as well: an early phase, an Old Testament phase, and a New Testament phase. Excavators ( fossors) built vast systems of galleries and passages on top of each other. They lie below the surface in an area of more than . Narrow steps that descend as many as four stories join the levels. Passages are about . Burial niches ( loculi) were carved into walls. They are high and long. Bodies were placed in chambers in stone sarcophagi in their clothes and bound in linen. Then the chamber was sealed with a slab bearing the name, age, and the day of death. The fresco decorations provide the main surviving evidence for Early Christian art, and initially show typically Roman styles used for decorating homes – with secular iconography adapted to a religious function. The catacomb of Saint Agnes is a small church. Some families were able to construct '' cubicula'' which would house various loculi and the architectural elements of the space would offer support for decoration. Another excellent place for artistic programs were the
arcosolia An arcosolium, plural arcosolia, is an arched recess used as a place of entombment. The word is from Latin , "arch", and , "throne" (literally "place of state") or post-classical " sarcophagus". Early arcosolia were carved out of the living rock ...
.


History of original tunnelling

The complex system of tunnels that would later be known as the catacombs were first excavated by the Etruscan people that lived in the region predating the Romans. These tunnels were first excavated in the process of mining for various rock resources such as limestone and sandstone. These quarries became the basis for later excavation, first by the Romans for rock resources and then by the Christians and Jews for burial sites and mass graves.


Decline and rediscovery

In 380, Christianity became a state religion. At first, many still desired to be buried in chambers alongside the martyrs. However, the practice of catacomb burial declined slowly, and the dead were increasingly buried in church cemeteries. After the Edict of Milan in 313, many Roman Christians flocked to the catacombs in order to find relics from the martyrs, and would pillage through the remains. Due to this, vandalism became rampant in the catacombs. In the 6th century, catacombs were used only for martyrs’ memorial services, though some paintings were added as late as the 7th century, for example, a ''
Saint Stephen Stephen ( grc-gre, Στέφανος ''Stéphanos'', meaning "wreath, crown" and by extension "reward, honor, renown, fame", often given as a title rather than as a name; c. 5 – c. 34 AD) is traditionally venerated as the protomartyr or first ...
'' in the Catacomb of Commodilla. Apparently, Ostrogoths,
Vandals The Vandals were a Germanic people who first inhabited what is now southern Poland. They established Vandal kingdoms on the Iberian Peninsula, Mediterranean islands, and North Africa in the fifth century. The Vandals migrated to the area betw ...
and
Lombards The Lombards () or Langobards ( la, Langobardi) were a Germanic people who ruled most of the Italian Peninsula from 568 to 774. The medieval Lombard historian Paul the Deacon wrote in the '' History of the Lombards'' (written between 787 an ...
that sacked Rome also violated the catacombs, presumably looking for valuables. By the 10th century, catacombs were practically abandoned, and holy relics were transferred to above-ground
basilica In Ancient Roman architecture, a basilica is a large public building with multiple functions, typically built alongside the town's Forum (Roman), forum. The basilica was in the Latin West equivalent to a stoa in the Greek East. The building ...
s. In the intervening centuries they remained forgotten until they were accidentally rediscovered in 1578, after which Antonio Bosio spent decades exploring and researching them for his ''Roma Sotterranea'' (1632). Archeologist Giovanni Battista de Rossi (1822–1894) published the first extensive professional studies about catacombs. In 1956 and 1959 Italian authorities found more catacombs near Rome. The catacombs have become an important monument of the
early Christian church Early Christianity (up to the First Council of Nicaea in 325) spread from the Levant, across the Roman Empire, and beyond. Originally, this progression was closely connected to already established Jewish centers in the Holy Land and the Jewish ...
.


Today

Responsibility for the Christian catacombs lies with the
Holy See The Holy See ( lat, Sancta Sedes, ; it, Santa Sede ), also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of R ...
, which has set up active official organizations for this purpose: the Pontifical Commission of Sacred Archaeology (Pontificia Commissione di Archeologia Sacra) directs excavations and restoration works, while the study of the catacombs is directed in particular by the Pontifical Academy of Archaeology. The administration of some sites is entrusted on a day-to-day basis to local clergy or religious orders who have an activity on or adjacent to the site. The supervision of the Catacombs of St. Callixtus by the Salesian Fathers is well known. In the last years, with the growth of the internet, updated information is often available online, with an indication of a current street address, opening hours, fees, availability of guides in the different languages, size of groups permitted, and public transport. Like other historical sites in Italy, the catacombs are often not accessible at certain times of the day or on certain days of the week and may require online pre-booking. There are currently only 5 Catacombs open to the public; San Sebastiano, San Callisto, Priscilla, Domitilla, and Sant'Agnese.


Typology

Roman catacombs are made up of underground passages (''ambulacra''), in the walls of which horizontal niches (''loculi'') were dug. These ''loculi'', generally laid out in sequences (''pilae'') one above the other from floor or waist level, could each contain one or more bodies. When placed inside of loculi, bodies were usualy covered in a shroud and often covered in lime, which helped to cover the smell of the decaying process. In order to make more money, fossores would often sell occupied loculi to other people. A ''loculus'' large enough to contain two bodies were referred to as a '' bisomus''. Another type of burial, typical of Roman catacombs, was the ''arcosolium'', consisting of a curved niche, enclosed under a carved horizontal marble slab. ''Cubicula'' (burial rooms containing ''loculi'' all for one family) and ''cryptae'' (chapels decorated with frescoes) are also commonly found in catacomb passages. When space began to run out, other graves were also dug in the floor of the corridors – these graves are called ''formae''.


List of catacombs in Rome

The Roman catacombs, of which there are forty in the suburbs or former suburbs, were built along the consular roads out of Rome, such as the ''
Via Appia The Appian Way (Latin and Italian: ''Via Appia'') is one of the earliest and strategically most important Roman roads of the ancient republic. It connected Rome to Brindisi, in southeast Italy. Its importance is indicated by its common name, ...
'', the ''
Via Ostiensis The Via Ostiensis ( it, via Ostiense) was an important road in ancient Rome. It ran west from the city of Rome to its important sea port of Ostia Antica, from which it took its name. The road began near the Forum Boarium, ran between the Aventin ...
'', the ''
Via Labicana The Via Labicana was an ancient road of Italy, leading east-southeast from Rome. It seems possible that the road at first led to Tusculum, that it was then extended to Labici, and later still became a road for through traffic; it may even have su ...
'', the ''
Via Tiburtina Via Tiburtina is an ancient road in Italy leading east-northeast from Rome to Tivoli (Latin, Tibur) and then, with the via Valeria, on to Pescara (Latin, Aternum). Historical road It was probably built by the Roman censor Marcus Valerius Maxi ...
'', and the ''
Via Nomentana Via Nomentana is an ancient road of Italy, leading North-East from Rome to Nomentum (modern Mentana), a distance of . It originally bore the name "Via Ficulensis", from the old Latin village of Ficulea, about from Rome. It was subsequently exte ...
''. With the exception of the ''Via Ostiensis'' (''Italian:'' Via Ostiense), these ancient Latin terms are also the current Italian names for these roads.


Catacombs of Marcellinus and Peter

These catacombs are situated on the ancient
Via Labicana The Via Labicana was an ancient road of Italy, leading east-southeast from Rome. It seems possible that the road at first led to Tusculum, that it was then extended to Labici, and later still became a road for through traffic; it may even have su ...
, today
Via Casilina The Via Casilina is a medieval road in Latium and Campania. It led from Rome to Casilinum (present-day Capua), to present-day Santa Maria Capua Vetere. It was created from the fusion of two ancient Roman roads, the ''Via Latina'' and the '' Via La ...
in
Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...
,
Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...
, near the church of
Santi Marcellino e Pietro ad Duas Lauros Santi is used as: People with the surname * Brenden Santi (born 1993), Australian-Italian rugby league player * Domenico Santi (1621–1694), also known as il Mengazzino, Italian painter * Emanuele Santi, Italian economist and political scientist ...
. Their name refers to the Christian martyrs
Marcellinus and Peter Saints Marcellinus and Peter (sometimes called ''Petrus Exorcista'' - Peter the Exorcist;Alban Butler, Kathleen Jones, Paul Burns, ''Butler's Lives of the Saints'' (Continuum International Publishing Group, 1997), 14. it, Marcellino e Pietro) are ...
who, according to tradition, were buried here, near the body of St. Tiburtius.


Catacombs of Domitilla

Close to the Catacombs of San Callisto are the large and impressive Catacombs of Domitilla (named after Saint Domitilla), spread over of caves. In the beginning of 2009, at the request of the Vatican, the Divine Word Missionaries, a Roman Catholic Society of priests and Brothers, assumed responsibility as an administrator of St. Domitilla Catacombs.


Catacombs of Commodilla

These catacombs, on the
Via Ostiensis The Via Ostiensis ( it, via Ostiense) was an important road in ancient Rome. It ran west from the city of Rome to its important sea port of Ostia Antica, from which it took its name. The road began near the Forum Boarium, ran between the Aventin ...
, contain one of the earliest images of a bearded Christ. They originally held the relics of Saints Felix and Adauctus. Excavations on the Commodilla were conducted by Franciscan archaeologist Bellarmino Bagatti (1933–34).


Catacombs of Generosa

Located on the Campana Road, these catacombs are said to have been the resting place, perhaps temporarily, of Simplicius, Faustinus and Beatrix,
Christian Martyrs In Christianity, a martyr is a person considered to have died because of their testimony for Jesus or faith in Jesus. In years of the early church, stories depict this often occurring through death by sawing, stoning, crucifixion, burning at th ...
who died in
Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...
during the Diocletian persecution (302 or 303).


Catacombs of Praetextatus

These are found along the
via Appia The Appian Way (Latin and Italian: ''Via Appia'') is one of the earliest and strategically most important Roman roads of the ancient republic. It connected Rome to Brindisi, in southeast Italy. Its importance is indicated by its common name, ...
and were built at the end of the 2nd century. They consist of a vast underground burial area, at first in pagan then in Christian use, housing various tombs of
Christian martyrs In Christianity, a martyr is a person considered to have died because of their testimony for Jesus or faith in Jesus. In years of the early church, stories depict this often occurring through death by sawing, stoning, crucifixion, burning at th ...
. In the oldest parts of the complex may be found the "
cubiculum A ''cubiculum'' (plural ''cubicula'') was a private room in a ''domus'', an ancient Roman house occupied by a high-status family. It usually led directly from the '' atrium'', but in later periods it was sometimes adjacent to the ''peristyle''. It ...
of the coronation", with a rare depiction for that period of Christ being crowned with thorns, and a 4th-century painting of Susanna and the old men in the allegorical guise of a lamb and wolves.


Catacombs of Priscilla

The Catacomb of Priscilla, situated at the
Via Salaria The Via Salaria was an ancient Roman road in Italy. It eventually ran from Rome (from Porta Salaria of the Aurelian Walls) to ''Castrum Truentinum'' ( Porto d'Ascoli) on the Adriatic coast, a distance of 242 km. The road also passed throug ...
across from the
Villa Ada Villa Ada is a park in Rome, Italy, with a surface of it is the second largest in the city after Villa Doria Pamphili. It is located in the northeastern part of the city. History The wooded expanse was owned by the Italian royal House of Savoy i ...
, probably derives its name from the name of the landowner on whose land they were built. They are looked after by the Benedictine nuns of Priscilla.


Catacombs of San Callisto

Sited along the Appian way, these catacombs were built after AD 150, with some private Christian hypogea and a funeral area directly dependent on the
Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
. It takes its name from the deacon Saint Callixtus, proposed by
Pope Zephyrinus Pope Zephyrinus was the bishop of Rome from 199 to his death on 20 December 217. He was born in Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map ...
in the administration of the same cemetery – on his accession as pope, he enlarged the complex, that quite soon became the official one for the Roman Church. The arcades, where more than fifty martyrs and sixteen pontiffs were buried, form part of a complex graveyard that occupies fifteen hectares. The Catacombs of San Callisto are around 90 acres large, 12 miles long, contains 4 levels, and spans more than 20 meters underground. Because of the high volume of popes buried inside the catacombs, it is often called the "Little Vatican".


Catacombs of San Lorenzo

Built into the hill beside
San Lorenzo fuori le Mura The Basilica Papale di San Lorenzo fuori le mura (Papal Basilica of Saint Lawrence outside the Walls) is a Roman Catholic Minor papal basilica and parish church, located in Rome, Italy. The Basilica is one of the Seven Pilgrim Churches of Rome ...
, these catacombs are said to have been the final resting place of
St. Lawrence Saint Lawrence or Laurence ( la, Laurentius, lit. " laurelled"; 31 December AD 225 – 10 August 258) was one of the seven deacons of the city of Rome under Pope Sixtus II who were martyred in the persecution of the Christians that the Roma ...
. The church was built by
Pope Sixtus III Pope Sixtus III was the bishop of Rome from 31 July 432 to his death on 18 August 440. His ascension to the papacy is associated with a period of increased construction in the city of Rome. His feast day is celebrated by Catholics on 28 March. ...
and later remodeled into the present nave. Sixtus also redecorated the shrine in the catacomb and was buried there.


Catacombs of San Pancrazio

Established underneath the San Pacrazio basilica which was built by Pope Symmachus on the place where the body of the young martyr Saint Pancras, or Pancratius, had been buried. In the 17th century, it was given to the
Discalced Carmelites The Discalced Carmelites, known officially as the Order of the Discalced Carmelites of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel ( la, Ordo Fratrum Carmelitarum Discalceatorum Beatae Mariae Virginis de Monte Carmelo) or the Order of Discalced Carme ...
, who completely remodeled it. The catacombs house fragments of sculpture and pagan and early Christian inscriptions.


Catacombs of San Sebastiano

One of the smallest Christian cemeteries, this has always been one of the most accessible catacombs and is thus one of the least preserved (of the four original floors, the first is almost completely gone). On the left-hand end of the right-hand wall of the nave of the primitive basilica, rebuilt in 1933 on ancient remains, arches to end the middle of the nave of the actual church, built in the 13th century, are visible, along with the outside of the apse of the Chapel of the Relics; whole and fragmentary collected sarcophagi (mostly of 4th-century date) were found in excavations. This is where the martyrs Sebastian and Eutychius were buried. Via a staircase down, one finds the arcades where varied cubicula (including the cubiculum of Giona's fine four stage cycle of paintings, dating to the end of the 4th century). One then arrives at the restored crypt of S. Sebastiano, with a table altar on the site of the ancient one (some remains of the original's base still survive) and a bust of
Saint Sebastian Saint Sebastian (in Latin: ''Sebastianus''; Narbo, Gallia Narbonensis, Roman Empire c. AD 255 – Rome, Italia, Roman Empire c. AD 288) was an early Christian saint and martyr. According to traditional belief, he was killed during the Diocle ...
attributed to Bernini. From here one reaches a platform, under which is a sandstone cavity ad catacumbas which once may have been named "ad catacumbas", thus giving this and all other tombs of this type their name. 3 mausolea of the second half of the 2nd century (but also in later use) open off the platform. The first one on the right, decorated on the outside with paintings of funereal banquets and the miracle of the calling out of Cerasa's demons, on the inside contains paintings (including a ceiling painting of a Gorgon's head) and inhumation burials and has a surviving inscription reading "Marcus Clodius Hermes", the name of its owner. The second, called by some "tomb of the Innocentiores" (a burial club which owned it), has a refined stucco ceiling, Latin inscriptions in Greek characters, and a graffito with the initials of the Greek words for " Jesus Christ, Son of God, Saviour". On the left is the mausoleum of Ascia, with an exterior wall painting of vine shoots rising from kantharoi up
trompe-l'œil ''Trompe-l'œil'' ( , ; ) is an artistic term for the highly realistic optical illusion of three-dimensional space and objects on a two-dimensional surface. ''Trompe l'oeil'', which is most often associated with painting, tricks the viewer into ...
pillars. A room called the "Triglia" rises from the platform, roughly in the middle of the basilica and cut into from above by the present basilica. This covered room was used for funereal banquets; the plastered walls have hundreds of graffiti by the devotees at these banquets, carved in the second half of the 3rd to the beginnings of the 4th century, with appeals to the apostle's Peter and Paul. From the "Trigilia" one passed into an ancient ambulatory, which turns around into an apse: here is a collection of epitaphs and a model of all the mausolei, of the "Triglia" and of the Constantinian basilica. From here one descends into the "Platonica", construction at the rear of the basilica that was long believed to have been the temporary
resting place ''Resting Place'' is an American TV movie directed by John Korty, starring John Lithgow, Morgan Freeman, CCH Pounder, Frances Sternhagen and G. D. Spradlin, released in 1986. Plot In 1972, Major Kendall Laird (John Lithgow) as a Survivors Assista ...
for Peter and Paul, but was in fact (as proved by excavation) a tomb for the martyr
Quirinus In Roman mythology and religion, Quirinus ( , ) is an early god of the Roman state. In Augustan Rome, ''Quirinus'' was also an epithet of Janus, as ''Janus Quirinus''. Name Attestations The name of god Quirinus is recorded across Roman sou ...
, bishop of Sescia in Pannonia, whose remains were brought here in the 5th century. To the right of the "Platonica" is the chapel of
Honorius III Pope Honorius III (c. 1150 – 18 March 1227), born Cencio Savelli, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 18 July 1216 to his death. A canon at the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore, he came to hold a number of importa ...
, adapted as the vestibule of the mausoleum, with interesting 13th-century paintings of Peter and Paul, the Crucifixion, saints, the Massacre of the Innocents,
Madonna and Child In art, a Madonna () is a representation of Mary, either alone or with her child Jesus. These images are central icons for both the Catholic and Orthodox churches. The word is (archaic). The Madonna and Child type is very prevalent i ...
, and other subjects. On the left is an apsidal mausoleum with an altar built against the apse: on the left wall, a surviving graffito reading "domus Petri" either hints at Peter having been buried here or testifies to the belief at the time the graffito was written that Peter was buried here.


Catacombs of San Valentino

These catacombs were dedicated to
Saint Valentine Saint Valentine ( it, San Valentino; la, Valentinus) was a 3rd-century Roman saint, commemorated in Western Christianity on February 14 and in Eastern Orthodoxy on July 6. From the High Middle Ages, his Saints' Day has been associated with a ...
. In the 13th century, the martyr's relics were transferred to Basilica of Saint Praxedes.


Catacombs of Sant'Agnese

Built for the conservation and veneration of the remains of Saint Agnes of Rome. Agnes' bones are now conserved in the church of Sant'Agnese fuori le mura in Rome, built over the catacomb. Her skull is preserved in a side chapel in the church of
Sant'Agnese in Agone Sant'Agnese in Agone (also called Sant'Agnese in Piazza Navona) is a 17th-century Baroque church in Rome, Italy. It faces onto the Piazza Navona, one of the main urban spaces in the historic centre of the city and the site where the Early Christi ...
in Rome's
Piazza Navona Piazza Navona () is a public open space in Rome, Italy. It is built on the site of the Stadium of Domitian, built in the 1st century AD, and follows the form of the open space of the stadium. The ancient Romans went there to watch the '' agones' ...
.


Catacombs of via Anapo

On the
via Salaria The Via Salaria was an ancient Roman road in Italy. It eventually ran from Rome (from Porta Salaria of the Aurelian Walls) to ''Castrum Truentinum'' ( Porto d'Ascoli) on the Adriatic coast, a distance of 242 km. The road also passed throug ...
, the Catacombs of via Anapo are datable to the end of the 3rd or the beginning of the 4th century and contain diverse frescoes of biblical subjects.


Jewish catacombs

There are six known Jewish catacombs in Rome, two of which are open to the public: Vigna Randanini and Villa Torlonia. The Jewish catacombs were discovered in 1918, and archaeological excavations continued for twelve years. The structure has two entrances, one on via Syracuse and the other inside Villa Torlonia. The catacombs extend for more than , and date back to the period between the 2nd and 3rd centuries, and possibly remained in use until the 5th century. There are almost a century of epitaphs, but these do not show any examples of a particular belief, beyond some rare frescoes showing the classic Jewish religious symbols. Jewish Catacombs are distinguished from their Christian counterparts by various signs as well as the fact that Jewish people did not visit the dead in the Catacombs. Parts of the Old Testament and the symbol of a candlestick with seven-branches have been spotted on the walls of Jewish Catacombs. Due to high levels of humidity and temperature, bone preservation has been negatively affected in the catacombs. Scientists are unable to identify the sex of the dead due to the lack of preservation in the bones. The other catacombs are not open to the public because of the instability of their structure and the presence of radon.


Gallery of paintings from the catacombs of Rome

In the Catacombs of Rome, there are many different pieces of artwork. Most artworks are religious in nature some depicting important Christian rites such as baptism, or religious scenes and stories such as the story of "The Three Hebrews and the Fiery Furnace" or biblical figures such as Adam and Eve. File:Baptism - Saint Calixte.jpg File:Jonah thrown into the Sea.jpg File:VirgenNino.jpg File:Fiery furnace 01.jpg File:Agape feast 07.jpg File:Good shepherd 01 small.jpg File:Good shepherd 02b close.jpg File:Adam & Eve 01b.jpg File:Paul philosopher.jpg


See also

* Antonio Bosio, (c. 1575-1576–1629) was an Italian scholar, the first systematic explorer of subterranean Rome *
Catacomb saints Catacomb saints were the bodies of ancient Christians that were carefully exhumed from the catacombs of Rome and sent abroad to serve as relics of certain saints from the 16th century to the 19th century. They were typically lavishly decorated wit ...
, corpses from the Roman catacombs that were decorated and presented as relics of Christian saints * Depictions of Jesus * List of ancient monuments in Rome


References


Sources

* B. L. Benas, ''Records of the Jews in Rome and their Inscriptions from Ancient Catacombs'', Literary & Philosophical Society of Liverpool, 1895 * L'Abbe Jean-Joseph Gaume, ''Les Trois Rome, journal d'un Voyage en Italie'', Gaume Freres, 1847 * William Ingraham Kip, ''The Catacombs of Rome; as illustrating the Church of the first three Centuries'', Redfield, 1854 * Charles Macfarlane, ''The Catacombs of Rome, with illustrations'', 1852 * Charles Maitland, ''The Church in the Catacombs: a Description of the Primitive Church of Rome, illustrated by its Sepulchral Remains'', Longman, Brown, Green & Longmans, 1847 (second revised edition) * Fabrizio Mancinelli, ''Catacombs and Basilicas: Early Christians in Rome'', Scala, 1981 * Rev. J. Spencer Northcote & Rev. William R. Brownlow, ''Roma Sotterranea; or an Account of the Roman Catacombs, Especially of the Cemetery of St. Callixtus, compiled from the works of Commendatore De Rossi, with the author's consent'', London, Longmans, 1869; re-written and expanded 1879 * Rev. J. Spencer Northcote, ''The Roman Catacombs; or, some account of the Burial-Places of the Early Christians in Rome'' Charles Dolman, 1857 * Rev. J. Spencer Northcote, ''A Visit to the Roman Catacombs'', Burns & Oates, 1877 * Rev. J. Spencer Northcote, ''Epitaphs of the Catacombs; or Christian Inscriptions in Rome during the first four Centuries'', Longman, 1878 * Philippe Pergola, ''Christian Rome: Early Christian Rome, Catacombs and Basilicas'', OUP, 2002 * Ivana della Portella & Mark E. Smith (photo.), ''Subterranean Rome: Catacombs, Baths, Temples, Streets'' (Art & Architecture series), Konemann, 2000 *
Benjamin Scott Benjamin Scott FRAS (15 April 1814 – 17 January 1892) served as the Chamberlain of London from 1858 until his death. As well as an enduring figure in the life of the city, he was also a committed social activist of the age, collaborating with ...
, ''The Contents and Teachings of the Catacombs at Rome... a vindication of Pure and Primitive Christianity etc.'', Longmans, 1853; reprinted in numerous editions * Dean Arthur Stanley, ''Lectures on the History of the Eastern Church'', John Murray, 1861 * James Stevenson, ''The Catacombs: Rediscovered Monuments of Early Christianity'' (Ancient Peoples and Places series), Thames & Hudson, 1978 * James Stevenson, ''The Catacombs: Life and Death in Early Christianity'', Thomas Nelson, 1985 *
Jocelyn Toynbee Jocelyn Mary Catherine Toynbee, (3 March 1897 – 31 December 1985) was an English archaeologist and art historian. "In the mid-twentieth century she was the leading British scholar in Roman artistic studies and one of the recognized authoriti ...
, ''Death and Burial in the Roman World'', JHU Press, 1996 reprint, , 9780801855078
google books
* John Harvey Treat, ''The Catacombs of Rome; and a History of the Tombs of the Apostles Peter and Paul'', The Old Corner Bookstore, 1907 * Rev. William Henry Withrow, ''The Catacombs of Rome and their Testimony Relative to Primitive Christianity'', Nelson & Phillips, 1874 * Rev. William Henry Withrow, ''Valeria, the Martyr of the Catacombs'', William Briggs, 1882


Further reading

* * *
''The Vatican: spirit and art of Christian Rome''
a book from The Metropolitan Museum of Art Libraries (fully available online as PDF), which contains material on the catacombs *


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Catacombs Of Rome Ancient Roman tombs and cemeteries in Rome Burial monuments and structures Cemeteries in Italy Christian buildings and structures in the Roman Empire Papal tombs