Catacombe di Roma Rome travel tips - hotels, photos and maps

More ancient units of the Roman catacombs go back to the end of TWO century. Previously the Christians came buried together with the pagani; when the community more numerous divenne, was necessary create collective cemeteries. To resolve the problem of the space and thanks to the easiness of the excavation in the bench of tender tufa submitting the town, you are came realized with underground arcades to more plans.

In the beginning the catacombs came used exclusively for purposes funerari and for the religion of the therein buried martyrdoms. The common opinion that wants that were used like hiding places from the Christians persecuted is likely lacking foundation. Besides the persecutions characterized alone some periods of the Roman empire , to the time of Nerone (between 64 and 67), Domitian (alone in 96), Decio (249-251), Valeriano THE (253-260) and Diocleziano (303-305).

In the III century, already in the alone one Rome , 25 cemeteries counted themselves that took the names from the Popes that were yourselves buried. In 313, the Christianity became legitimate religion and at least in the beginning had been in a lot want to be buried near the martyrdoms. But already from the V century it is begun to leave the use of the burial in the catacombs, that continued however to be goal of pilgrims to purpose of devotion.

Between the octave and the ninth century, later on to the you plunder some barbarians, the sanctuaries came gradually left and the sacred relics had been metaphorical in the churches.

In modern period they had been accidentally discoveries in the XVI century and began to to be explored first with Antonio Bosio (1575-1629 its col book posthumous Rome underground (1634) and above all with them search for Giovanni Baptist Says Red (1822-1894). In the fifties of the XX century they had been found a lot of catacombs in the crowds of Rome .

Rome hotels, Rome rent a car information, maps of Rome Typology to deepen, you see the voice Catacombs.

The Roman catacombs are constituted from underground arcades (ambulacra), long them whose walls the graves be extracted (niches). The niches, generally arranged on vertical file (pilae), could contain one or more bodies.

Another typology of burial, typical of the Roman catacombs, is the arcosolio (arcosolium), constituted from a bent niche imminent a marble slab mail in horizontal, that closed the grave.

Long the halls is not infrequent cubiculums (cubicula), very sepulchral containing niches destined families, and cripte (cryptae), hats decorated with you fresco.

For reasons of space some graves be dug also in the floor of the halls (you form).

Rome hotels, Rome rent a car information, maps of Rome List of catacombs

The Roman catacombs, in number of forty in the suburb, had been built long the roads you comfort, like the Via Appia, the Via Ostiense, the Via Labicana, the Via Tiburtina, and the Via Nomentana. The names of the catacombs report themselves to martyrdoms that it is supposed be buried to their inside. It follows the list of the catacombs more mattering.

* Catacombs of Domitilla * Catacombs of Priscilla * Catacombs of San Callisto * Catacombs of San Sebastiano *

Catacombs of Sant' Agnese * Catacombs of San Lorenzo * Catacombs of San Valentino on the via Flaminia *

Catacombs of San Pancrazio * Catacombs of the Holy Marcellino and Pietro

The care of the Christian catacombs entrusted at the Pontifical Sacred Commission of Archeology, that directs excavations and you restore.

In Rome they exist also Israeli catacombs like those of Vineyard Randanini and Villa Torlonia.