WTI Magazine #26    2014 Apr, 18
Author : Enrico De Iulis      Translation by:

On 13 April the Catacombs of Saints Peter and Marcellino in Rome have been reopened to the public. This is really one of the best news that we could tell you, because the events of this funerary complex are very exciting and promise well for countless other archaeological sites not emerged and not open to the public in Rome that may follow the same fortunes of this place.

On the Via Labicana (currently Via Casilina), the emperor Costantino had some landholdings called "ad duas lauros": this is where he initially wanted to be buried, in the cemetery where there was the "Equites singulares", a unique cavalry unit that the Emperor shut down as they were siding in favor of Massenzio at the Battle of Ponte Milvio, which saw the triumph of Costantino who then became emperor. Destiny and history then brought him to be buries in Bisanzio, and the mausoleum was instead used for the burial of his mother Helen.

The two titular saints of the catacombs below the mausoleum had been martyred in the early years of the fourth century and almost immediately subject to a very powerful veneration, especially followed by the pilgrims of the Via Francigena as soon as Pope Damaso wanted to build a crypt to bury their bodies: the bodies will be stolen and taken to Germany in 827.

The discovery of the crypt and of a large part of the catacombs occurred in 1896 but only in 2003, thanks to an accidental uncovering, new unexplored environments containing some frescoes came to light, together with a mass grave containing over 1,200 bodies, whose death appears almost simultaneous, from the second half of the second century or the beginning of the third century, perhaps due to a plague. It was thus decided to restore some big passages in order to make it possible to visit the most interesting places from an artistic and historical heritage.

The catacombs extend over an area of 18,000 square meters and it is estimated that only in the third century AD they welcomed more than 15,000 burial ground, to which must be added a few thousand on the surface. These catacombs are the second by extension in Rome and are the spearhead of a small but important museum that is being born in Rome, right in the mausoleum of Elena. This museum will try to reconstruct the history of the site estate "ad duas lauros" which is now fully incorporated into the city but which actually includes three large urban parks with many remains of large relevance as columbaria, villas, tombs and funerary structures.

Rome is the only city in the world that has the ability to have urban parks with archaeological theme even in the suburbs; many sites have already been well highlighted and enabled to be enjoyed by the general public, including the Villa of Quintiles, the Park of the Aqueducts, and the oasis of Porto.

Certainly good news as that of the opening of the Catacombs of Saints Marcellinus and Peter suggests how big is the untapped potential to exploit still lying beneath the soil of Rome. We look forward to see more discoveries and projects recently unveiled as the Centocelle Park, the catacombs of Via Salaria and the beautiful Villa Messalla with the Cycle of Niobe, to name just three.