The Catacombs of San Sebastiano are a hypogeum cemetery in
Rome
Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...
, Italy, rising along
Via Appia Antica, in the Ardeatino Quarter.
It is one of the very few Christian burial places that has always been accessible. The first of the former four floors is now almost completely destroyed.
The toponym
In ancient times the catacombs were simply known with the name ''in catacumbas'', a
Greek
Greek may refer to:
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...
term composed by two words, ''katà'' and ''kymbe'', literally meaning "close to the cavity". Actually, along the Appian Way, close to the cemetery, an evident dip in the ground is visible even now. Moreover, before its employment as a burial ground, the area was occupied by
pozzolan
Pozzolans are a broad class of siliceous and aluminous materials which, in themselves, possess little or no cementitious value but which will, in finely divided form and in the presence of water, react chemically with calcium hydroxide (Ca(OH)2 ...
mines, now placed about ten meters above the floor of the
Basilica of San Sebastiano fuori le mura: these mines gave rise to a pagan cemetery, then used by Christians. The word ''catacumbas'', through a process of extension and assimilation, was gradually used to identify all the hypogeum burial sites, thus simply called ''
catacombs
Catacombs are man-made underground passages primarily used for religious purposes, particularly for burial. Any chamber used as a burial place is considered a catacomb, although the word is most commonly associated with the Roman Empire.
Etym ...
''.
The underground graveyard, called ''di San Sebastiano'' since the
Early Middle Ages
The Early Middle Ages (or early medieval period), sometimes controversially referred to as the Dark Ages (historiography), Dark Ages, is typically regarded by historians as lasting from the late 5th to the 10th century. They marked the start o ...
, was known since the 3rd century as ''in memoria apostolorum'', a toponym referred to the presence within the catacomb, for some time, of the relics of the Apostles
Peter
Peter may refer to:
People
* List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name
* Peter (given name)
** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church
* Peter (surname), a su ...
and
Paul
Paul may refer to:
People
* Paul (given name), a given name, including a list of people
* Paul (surname), a list of people
* Paul the Apostle, an apostle who wrote many of the books of the New Testament
* Ray Hildebrand, half of the singing duo ...
. In effect, the ''
Depositio Martyrum'' (half of the 4th century), at the date of 29 June, talks about the recurrence of Peter ''in catacumbas'' and Paul on ''
Via Ostiensis
The Via Ostiensis () was an important road in ancient Rome. It runs 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 Aventine Hill and t ...
''. The ''
Martyrologium Hieronymianum
The ''Martyrologium Hieronymianum'' (meaning "martyrology of Jerome") or ''Martyrologium sancti Hieronymi'' (meaning "martyrology of Saint Jerome") is an ancient martyrology or list of Christian martyrs in calendar order, one of the most used and ...
'' (5th century), at the same date, cites the recurrence of Peter in the Vatican, Paul on ''Via Ostiensis'' and ''utrumque in catacumbas, Tusco et Basso consulibus'' (during the consulship of Tuscus and Bassus, that is in 258).
The martyrs of the cemetery
Ancient sources attest the presence of three martyrs within the cemetery on the Appian Way:
Sebastian,
Quirinus
In Roman mythology and Roman religion, religion, Quirinus ( , ) is an early god of the Ancient Rome, Roman state. In Augustus, Augustan Rome, ''Quirinus'' was also an epithet of Janus, Mars (mythology), Mars, and Jupiter (god), Jupiter.
Name
...
and Eutychius. The names of the martyrs are mentioned in a 7th-century catalogue, called ''Notula oleorum'', while the Early Middle Ages itineraries for pilgrims do not cite Eutychius, because its sepulchre was hard to reach.
As regards Sebastian, the ''
Depositio Martyrum'' remembers his death and his entombment ''in catacumbas'' on 20 January. Little is known about him:
Saint Ambrose
Ambrose of Milan (; 4 April 397), venerated as Saint Ambrose, was a theologian and statesman who served as Bishop of Milan from 374 to 397. He expressed himself prominently as a public figure, fiercely promoting Roman Christianity against Ari ...
(end of the 4th century) tells that he was born in
Milan
Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...
and that suffered martyrdom in Rome during the
Diocletianic Persecution; the 5th-century ''Passio'' refers that he was a soldier from
Narbonne
Narbonne ( , , ; ; ; Late Latin:) is a commune in Southern France in the Occitanie region. It lies from Paris in the Aude department, of which it is a sub-prefecture. It is located about from the shores of the Mediterranean Sea and was ...
, in
Gaul
Gaul () was a region of Western Europe first clearly described by the Roman people, Romans, encompassing present-day France, Belgium, Luxembourg, and parts of Switzerland, the Netherlands, Germany, and Northern Italy. It covered an area of . Ac ...
, born of a family from Milan and died in Rome under Diocletian. His relics stood in the catacomb until the 9th century, then they were moved within the town walls and now are kept on the Appian Way again, in the Chapel of Saint Sebastian in the basilica above the cemetery.
Quirinus
In Roman mythology and Roman religion, religion, Quirinus ( , ) is an early god of the Ancient Rome, Roman state. In Augustus, Augustan Rome, ''Quirinus'' was also an epithet of Janus, Mars (mythology), Mars, and Jupiter (god), Jupiter.
Name
...
was a bishop of Sescia, in
Pannonia
Pannonia (, ) was a Roman province, province of the Roman Empire bounded on the north and east by the Danube, on the west by Noricum and upper Roman Italy, Italy, and on the southward by Dalmatia (Roman province), Dalmatia and upper Moesia. It ...
, whose relics were moved to Rome by pilgrims from that region between the 4th and the 5th centuries.
Nothing is known about Eutychius but his grave, discovered during excavations carried out in the 20th century in a crumbly area of the catacombs; a poem dedicated to him, by
Pope Damasus I
Pope Damasus I (; c. 305 – 11 December 384), also known as Damasus of Rome, was the bishop of Rome from October 366 to his death in 384. It is claimed that he presided over the Council of Rome of 382 that determined the canon or official list ...
, is now displayed at the entry of the basilica.
History
Thanks to the excavations carried out at the end of 19th and during the 20th century, it was possible to recreate the topographic and architectural history of the area - consisting of three levels of galleries - in which the catacombs lie.
The area used to be a
pozzolan
Pozzolans are a broad class of siliceous and aluminous materials which, in themselves, possess little or no cementitious value but which will, in finely divided form and in the presence of water, react chemically with calcium hydroxide (Ca(OH)2 ...
mine; it was abandoned at the end of the 2nd century and then used by Romans as a place for pagan burial: simple graves for slaves and freedmen have been discovered, as well as monumental tombs, particularly in the so-called ''piazzola'' ("little square"), a circular compartment that had been an opencast mine, in which walls three mausoleums were dug.
The presence, in these mausoleums and particularly in the so-called ''Mausoleum of Innocentiores'', of typically Christian iconographies, such as the ''anchor'' and the ''
fish
A fish (: fish or fishes) is an aquatic animal, aquatic, Anamniotes, anamniotic, gill-bearing vertebrate animal with swimming fish fin, fins and craniate, a hard skull, but lacking limb (anatomy), limbs with digit (anatomy), digits. Fish can ...
'', suggests that the mausoleums were used, at a later stage, also for the sepulture of Christians. Besides the ''piazzola'', the dig of the cemetery galleries was started in this period.
Around the half of the 3rd century the whole ''piazzola'' was filled in, so as to create an embankment at an upper level. Three monuments have been brought to light on this shelf: the so-called ''triclia'', a covered porticoed hall used for burial banquets, whose walls display more than 600 graffiti with invocations to the Apostles Peter and Paul; a marble-upholstered
aedicule
In ancient Roman religion, an ''aedicula'' (: ''aediculae'') is a small shrine, and in classical architecture refers to a niche covered by a pediment or entablature supported by a pair of columns and typically framing a statue,"aedicula, n." ''O ...
that, according to archaeologists, was the place where the relics of the two Apostles were kept during the period when they were moved ''in catacumbas''; and a covered room with a well to draw water. The transfer of the relics of the Apostles to San Sebastiano in the mid-3rd century and their relocation in the former places at the beginning of the 4th century is still a debated issue among researchers and archaeologists.
Finally, in the first half of the 4th century also these spaces were buried, in order to build the embankment on which the
Constantinian basilica was erected.
Description
Within the right nave of the former basilica - rebuilt in 1933 above ancient remains - it is possible to see on the left the arches connecting with the middle nave of the present church, walled up in the 13th century, and the exterior of the
apse
In architecture, an apse (: apses; from Latin , 'arch, vault'; from Ancient Greek , , 'arch'; sometimes written apsis; : apsides) is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical Vault (architecture), vault or semi-dome, also known as an ' ...
of the ''Chapel of Relics''. Here are gathered some
sarcophagi
A sarcophagus (: sarcophagi or sarcophaguses) is a coffin, most commonly carved in stone, and usually displayed above ground, though it may also be buried. The word ''sarcophagus'' comes from the Greek σάρξ ' meaning "flesh", and φ� ...
, both entire and fragmentary (mostly dating from the 4th century), discovered during the excavations.
A ladder leads to the tunnels, with several cubicles; here, the paintings of
Jonah
Jonah the son of Amittai or Jonas ( , ) is a Jewish prophet from Gath-hepher in the Northern Kingdom of Israel around the 8th century BCE according to the Hebrew Bible. He is the central figure of the Book of Jonah, one of the minor proph ...
's cubicle, dating back to the end of the 4th century and depicting four scenes of the life of the prophet, are quite outstanding. The restored ''
Crypt
A crypt (from Greek κρύπτη (kryptē) ''wikt:crypta#Latin, crypta'' "Burial vault (tomb), vault") is a stone chamber beneath the floor of a church or other building. It typically contains coffins, Sarcophagus, sarcophagi, or Relic, religiou ...
of
Saint Sebastian
Sebastian (; ) was an early Christianity, Christian saint and martyr. According to traditional belief, he was killed during the Diocletianic Persecution of Christians. He was initially tied to a post or tree and shot with arrows, though this d ...
'' houses an altar shelf replacing the former one (of which some traces of the base still remain) and the bust of Saint Sebastian attributed to
Bernini
Gian Lorenzo (or Gianlorenzo) Bernini (, ; ; Italian Giovanni Lorenzo; 7 December 1598 – 28 November 1680) was an Italian sculptor and architect. While a major figure in the world of architecture, he was more prominently the leading sculptor ...
. Soon after there is the lay-by, under which lies a sandstone cavity that perhaps gave rise to the name "''ad catacumbas''", given to this cemetery and then extended to the other ones.
In the lay-by rise three
mausolea dating back to the second half of the 2nd century, later re-used.
* The first one on the right is externally decorated with paintings (funeral banquets and the
exorcism of the Gerasene demoniac) and still bears an inscription with the name of the owner, ''Marcus Clodius Hermes''; the interior houses graves and pictures and shows a vault decorated with the head of a
gorgon
The Gorgons ( ; ), in Greek mythology, are three monstrous sisters, Stheno, Euryale, and Medusa, said to be the daughters of Phorcys and Ceto. They lived near their sisters the Graeae, and were able to turn anyone who looked at them to sto ...
.
* The second one, called ''Mausoleum of Innocentiores'' referring to the funeral college to which it belonged, has a vault decorated with refined
stucco
Stucco or render is a construction material made of aggregates, a binder, and water. Stucco is applied wet and hardens to a very dense solid. It is used as a decorative coating for walls and ceilings, exterior walls, and as a sculptural and ...
es; some recesses show inscriptions with
Greek
Greek may refer to:
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...
characters but written in
Latin
Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...
, as well as a
graffito with the initials of the Greek words meaning "''
Jesus
Jesus (AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Chris ...
Christ Son of God Savior''" (
Ichtys).
* On the left there is the ''Mausoleum of the
Adze
An adze () or adz is an ancient and versatile cutting tool similar to an axe but with the cutting edge perpendicular to the handle rather than parallel. Adzes have been used since the Stone Age. They are used for smoothing or carving wood in ha ...
'', from the tool depicted on the exterior, whose decoration consists of shoots of vine sprouting from ''
kantharoi'' placed on false pillars.
References
Bibliography
* De Santis L. - Biamonte G., ''Le catacombe di Roma'', Newton & Compton Editori, Rome 1997
*
Ferrua A., ''La basilica e la catacomba di S. Sebastiano'',
Vatican City
Vatican City, officially the Vatican City State (; ), is a Landlocked country, landlocked sovereign state and city-state; it is enclaved within Rome, the capital city of Italy and Bishop of Rome, seat of the Catholic Church. It became inde ...
1990
*
Guarducci M., ''Pietro e Paolo sulla via Appia e la tomba di Pietro in Vaticano'', Vatican City 1983
* Mancini G., ''Scavi sotto la basilica di S. Sebastiano sull'Appia'', in Notizie degli Scavi di Antichità, Rome 1923, pp. 3–79
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Catacombs Of San Sebastiano
2nd-century establishments in the Roman Empire
Buildings and structures completed in the 2nd century
Sebastiano
Rome Q. XX Ardeatino
Ancient Roman tombs and cemeteries in Rome
Saint Sebastian