Via Salaria, 430
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Official site
The Catacombs of Priscilla are located along the Via Salaria, with
the entrance in front of Villa Ada, in Rome. The name probably derives
from the name of the woman who donated the land for the construction of
the sepulchral area, or from its founder. In the cemetery there is a
funerary inscription relating to a "Priscilla", related to the
senatorial family of Acilii.
The catacombs were excavated in the
tuff from the 2nd century to the 5th century, when they reached the
final structure, which extends for a total of 13 kilometers of
underground tunnels. In ancient times she was nicknamed "The Queen of
the catacombs" due to the numerous martyrs buried.
In the index
of the ancient Christian cemeteries of Rome (Index coemeteriorum) the
catacombs are also referred to as Cimitero di Priscilla a San Silvestro,
from the name of the basilica built there in the 4th century on the
burial place of the martyrs Felice and Filippo.
Description
During the persecutions of the
third and fourth centuries the catacombs welcomed the remains of
numerous martyrs (including a Pope, Marcellinus) and, subsequently,
of six other popes. 35 meters deep and articulated on three levels,
the catacombs house about 40,000 burials. Abandoned in the 5th
century and subsequently sacked at the time of the barbarian
invasions, the catacombs have therefore been forgotten for a long
time and only in the last few centuries have been rediscovered and
enhanced.
Among the many niches it is possible to mention
some of particular interest.
The cubicle of the Veiled
The
cubicle dates back to the 3rd century and takes its name from a very
well preserved fresco of a lunette depicting a veiled woman in a
prayerful attitude, with her arms folded up. The woman, probably
buried there, is therefore also depicted in other significant
moments in her life: marriage and the birth of a child. In the other
vaults of the room there are frescoes from the Old Testament (the
saving of the three young Hebrews from the fire, that of Isaac from
his sacrifice and that of Jonah from the monster) to symbolize
salvation thanks to the Redemption. In the center of the ceiling, a
fresco of the Good Shepherd carrying a kid on his shoulders.
The Greek Chapel
The chapel is a room divided into two parts by
an arch and richly decorated with Pompeian-style paintings dating
back to the 2nd century, fake marble and stucco. His often
well-preserved depictions represent several episodes from the Old
and New Testament. Of particular interest are the Adoration of the
Magi, the Resurrection of Lazarus and the healing of a paralytic,
which constitute some of the oldest surviving representations of
these episodes. The cycle of frescoes then includes Old Testament
representations (Daniel among the lions, Susanna threatened by the
elderly, the three young Jews in the furnace, Moses making water
flow from the rock) and a representation of a Eucharistic banquet
(Fractio Panis), in which some men and a woman.
Madonna
On
the ceiling of a niche that housed a venerated tomb, probably of a
martyr, there is a stucco painting with the Madonna seated with the
Child on her lap and next to her a Balaam prophet pointing to a
star. Given the style and location (in the initial part of the
cemetery) the dating of the painting to the third century is
attributed, therefore it is believed that this painting is, after
the Adoration of the Magi in the Greek Chapel, the oldest depiction
of the Madonna and Child Jesus. received.
Basilica and
monastery
Over the catacombs Pope Sylvester I had a basilica
built in the 4th century which, with the progressive abandonment of
the urban areas outside the walls, gradually fell into disrepair and
was therefore forgotten. Its remains were found in 1890 and in 1906
on the ancient wall structures, walls were raised and a ceiling was
built to protect the site, thus creating a new basilica modeled on
the previous one. Inside Villa Ada there is the basilica built by
Pope S. Silvestro in correspondence with the tomb of Felice and
Filippo. In the room adjacent to the basilica, a museum has been set
up which collects hundreds of fragments of sarcophagi found during
excavations in the area of the catacomb.
The current
entrance to the Catacombs is at the Casa delle Catacombe di
Priscilla, built in 1929 and home to the Benedictine Sisters of
Priscilla, who take care of the site.
Popes buried in the
Catacombs
The Catacombs of Priscilla house the remains of 7
popes:
San Marcellino
San Marcello I
San Silvestro I
Liberius
San Siricio
San Celestino I
Vigilio.