The underground kingdom of Rome: treasures of the catacombs. Roman catacombs - mysteries of underground tombs

The catacombs are rightfully one of the most interesting places burials in Italy. Of course, the best of them are the catacombs of Rome. It was here that labyrinthine underground tunnels were used for centuries to bury thousands of bodies. The most famous place These underground burials are considered to be the Old Appian Way. It was this area, located outside the city of Rome, that was used as a burial place for pagans and early Christians.

History of origin

On the Appian Way are the catacombs of St. Callistus, which were built in the mid-2nd century and today are one of the largest and most important in Rome. They are named after Deacon Callisto, who in 199 was appointed caretaker and custodian of the first official cemetery of the Church of Rome. During the twenty years that Callisto was in charge of the cemetery, he significantly expanded and improved the main areas of the dungeon.
In the third century, Callisto was chosen as the new pope. After his death, the cemetery was named in his honor, and Callisto himself was elevated to the rank of saint. It is noteworthy that he himself is not among the popes buried here.

Architecture

From the 2nd to 4th centuries, when Christianity was not accepted as a religion and there were terrible persecutions against its main adherents, the catacombs were used only for burials, and this period is characterized by simple, uncomplicated tablets and inscriptions. And most of the burials of that period are quite simple tombs, decorated with simple carvings. Beginning in the 4th century in the following years, Pope Damasius was able to obtain recognition of Christianity as the state religion from Emperor Theodosius, and decided to restore these catacombs. When the persecution ended, inscriptions became much more common, and many frescoes and mosaics appeared. Now not only was the person's name written on the tomb, but also a picture was drawn depicting his profession. So in the catacombs of St. Callistus you can see images of bakers, carpenters, tailors, teachers, lawyers, doctors, civil servants, military men and other drawings that clearly depict one or another profession. For a long time the catacombs were not only a place of burial, but also of pilgrimage. The crypt was abandoned only after the relics and relics of the saints contained in it were transferred to various churches in Rome. The final wave of transfers from the crypt occurred during the reign of Pope Sergius II in the 9th century.
Interest in the catacombs was revived only in the 15th century. Only in the 19th century did they once again begin to be valued as holy places and considered the main treasury of Christianity. Thanks to the founder of modern Christian archeology, Giovanni Batista de Rossi, in 1854 the catacombs of St. Callistus were discovered and thoroughly explored.
Today there are about half a million different burials in the catacombs. In general, the area of ​​the catacombs is about 15 hectares of land, with a length of 20 km. The maximum depth of the catacombs reaches 20 meters.
At the entrance to the catacombs you can see the crypt, which is called the “Little Vatican”; it is here that 9 popes and 8 church dignitaries are buried.
Next comes the crypt of St. Cecilia, who is considered the patroness of sacred music. The remains of this saint were transferred to the church back in 821. But today here you can see a beautiful sculpture, the work of Stefano Moderno, who thus decided to perpetuate the incorruptible body of the deceased girl.

Note to tourists

The catacombs are closed on Wednesdays and in February. On other days they work from 9-00 to 12-00; from 14-00 to 17-00.

For many centuries in Italy, adherents of the pagan faith and the first Christians were chosen for burial catacombs of rome located outside the city on the Appian Way. Here in the middle of the second century were built Catacombs of Saint Callistus, which are still considered the largest and most important in Rome today. In 119, Deacon Callisto was appointed caretaker and custodian of the first cemetery of the Church of Rome, after whom the catacombs were named. Over the course of 20 years, he expanded and improved the dungeon layout. Callisto, who became pope in the 3rd century, was canonized after his death, and the cemetery was named in his honor, despite the fact that Callisto is not one of the popes who are buried here.

Historical and architectural value

During the period when Christianity was not accepted as a state religion, terrible persecution of its adherents was carried out. The architecture of underground burials of this period is characterized by simple inscriptions and tablets; the burials look like simple tombs, decorated with a monotonous carved pattern. Later, during the reign of Pope Damasius, when, on his initiative, Emperor Theodosius recognized Christianity as the state religion, it was decided to restore the catacombs. The end of Christian persecution was clearly reflected in the architecture of the burials: various mosaics and frescoes appeared, inscriptions became larger and more widespread. Not only the names of people were marked on the tombs, but also pictures depicting the scope of their activities were depicted. Drawings depicting various professions - civil servants, lawyers, teachers, doctors, carpenters - became an architectural feature Catacombs of Saint Callistus. In those distant times, the catacombs were not only a burial place, they represented huge interest for numerous pilgrims. By the 9th century, during the reign of Pope Sergius II, the relics of saints and relics from the dungeon were transferred to Roman churches and the crypt was abandoned.

Revival of the treasury of Christianity

Many centuries passed until, in the 15th century, interest in the amazing underground labyrinths was revived and pilgrimage visits resumed. WITH early XIX centuries, the catacombs began to be considered the main treasury of Christianity, valuing them as holy places for worship. 1854 – the year of discovery and thorough research catacombs of Rome, undertaken by the founder of the archeology of early Christianity, Giovanni de Rossi. Catacombs with an area of ​​up to 15 hectares, a total length of up to 20 kilometers and maximum depth, reaching 20 meters, include up to half a million burials. “Little Vatican” is the name given to the crypt located at the entrance to the catacombs where popes and church dignitaries are buried. Behind the crypt you can see the crypt of St. Cecilia, the patroness of sacred music, whose remains were found here in 821. This is a vast room in which the sarcophagus of the saint is located. The crypt contains a copy of the sculpture of Saint Cecilia by Stefano Moderno.

The Catacombs of Saint Callistus in Rome are not only a historical monument of underground architecture, but also a museum of Christian mosaics, symbolism and painting that emerged in those historical times, which introduce numerous visitors from all over the world to the traditions, rites and rituals of the early Christian Roman community.

There are more than 40 catacombs, the length of whose underground corridors is about 500 km! The exact number of burials is unknown, but it is believed that about a million people are buried! The deepest tunnel is in the catacombs of St. Callistas - 25 meters! The catacombs of St. Sebastian, St. Callistae and catacombs of Domitilla. All catacombs are under the care of monks of various orders.

In Ancient Rome, it was forbidden to bury people within the city limits - inside the city walls. In addition, the Romans cremated their dead, building huge funeral pyres for their great men, like Gaius Julius Caesar. Early Christians, on the contrary, did not recognize the custom of cremation. They understood the resurrection from the dead literally and therefore buried their dead in niches that were covered either with cypress or marble boards. Now all these niches are open and there are no human remains there. You can see small recesses above the niches in which the lamps burned.

Near the Appian Way (via Appia Antica) there are three complexes of catacombs: St. Callistus, St. Sebastian and the catacombs of Domitilla. The word “catacomb” itself originally referred only to the catacombs of St. Sebastian, a kind of network of wells, the underground galleries of which were used for the first burials of Christians. With the spread of a new religion, in which the burial ritual involved wrapping the body in cloth and burying it, the need arose to expand the network of underground corridors by tens of kilometers. Sometimes they served people as shelter from dangers. Roman pagans never descended into them, considering the catacombs a sanctuary for Christians.

The Romans did not know the word “catacombs”; they called them “cemeterium” - “chambers”. Only one of the cemeteries, St. Sebastian's, was called "katakumbas" (from the Greek "deepening"). In the Middle Ages, only she was known, so since then all underground burials began to be called catacombs.

The Catacombs of St. Callista are the official cemetery of the Roman bishops, named after Pope Callista, who expanded and put them in order. Ardeatine graves, where 335 Italians who were shot by the Germans during the Second World War are buried.

On the Street of Seven Churches there are the Catacombs of Domitilla, named after the wife of Flavius ​​Clementius, who was buried there. Let's return again to the Appian Way to explore the catacombs and the Church of St. Sebastian. In the three-tier catacombs there is a bust of the saint by the sculptor Bernini. Inside the church are the Albani Chapel, the Chapel of St. Sebastian and the Chapel with Holy Relics. Further on are the Jewish Catacombs and the Catacombs of Pretextata, where pagan and Christian tombs are located.

On the Appian Way, the first catacombs of St. Callistus are located - the most ancient place Christian burials in Rome. They are especially revered, as the tombs of almost all the popes of the 3rd century are located here. This is a grandiose complex located on four levels. Here we need to turn Special attention to the papal crypt and the crypt of St. Cecilia, in which the miraculously intact body of a young girl was discovered.

The nearby catacombs of Saint Sebastian are the only ones open to pilgrims at all times. The entrance to them begins in the Basilica of St. Sebastian, built in the 4th century, but which has come down to us in a converted form (architects Flaminio Ponzio and Giovanni Vasanzio). The catacombs are located in several tiers. The cubiculum of Geon with frescoes from the late 4th century is noteworthy. Let us also mention the so-called Roman Villa with architectural naturalistic decorations.

Our gaze is suddenly struck by the piazzola that appears at the intersection of narrow corridors. It faces the facades of three mausoleums, which were first used by pagans as urns for ashes, and then by Christians as graves for burials. The numerous wall inscriptions of believers are interesting.

They say that if you stretch all the Roman catacombs in one line, it will be longer than the entire coast of Italy.

The entrance to the catacombs of Domitilla opens through the Basilica of Saints Jereo and Achileus, completely destroyed in 1874 and then restored. There is a wonderful garden adjacent to the basilica. In these catacombs, the Cuculum of Veneranda deserves attention first of all. The frescoes decorating the walls are characterized by extraordinary intensity and luminosity, and can be distinguished even by candlelight.

Charles Dickens in Pictures from Italy described his impressions of visiting the catacombs of St. Sebastian (the only ones known in the 1840s): An emaciated Franciscan monk with a wild, burning gaze was our only guide into these deep and terrible dungeons. Narrow passages and holes in the walls, going this way or that way, combined with the stuffy, heavy air, soon displaced any memory of the path we walked... We passed between the graves of martyrs for the faith: we walked along long vaulted underground roads, diverging in all directions and blocked here and there by stone rubble... Graves, graves, graves!

The graves of men, women and their children ran out to meet their pursuers, shouting: “We are Christians! We are Christians!” so that they would be killed, killed along with their parents; graves with the palm of martyrdom roughly carved on the stone edges; small niches carved into the rock to hold a vessel with the blood of the holy martyr; the graves of some of them who lived here for many years, guiding the rest and preaching truth, hope and comfort at rough-built altars, so strong that they still stand there; larger and even more terrible graves, where hundreds of people, taken by surprise by their pursuers, were surrounded and tightly walled up, buried alive and slowly starved to death.

The triumph of faith is not there, on earth, not in our luxurious churches,” said the Franciscan, looking around at us when we stopped to rest in one of the low passages, where bones and dust surrounded us on all sides, “its triumph is here, among the martyrs for faith!

Address: Catacombs of St. Callixtus, Via Appia Antica, 110/126, 00179 Roma, Italy.
Opening hours: daily from 09:00 to 12:00 and from 14:00 to 17:00.
Day off is Wednesday.
Entrance fee: 8 EUR.

We can talk endlessly about Rome, who has experienced many bright events in his lifetime, beautiful and tragic, but each time, like the Phoenix bird, who managed to be reborn from the ashes, to remain just as proud and indestructible. There is another Rome, invisible and unknown to many, lying right under our feet, where each layer reflects an entire era. To touch him centuries-old history, hidden under thousands of acres of land, you must make your way to the underground kingdom...

What the dungeons “told” about

Roman catacombs- the most amazing monument that conveys the history of Christians for three centuries since the birth of Christ. For many centuries they remained in oblivion. And only in the middle of the 19th century. they were accidentally discovered by the Italian archaeologist Giovanni Battista de Rossi.
Trying to find objects of ancient Christians, he came across a marble piece of slab that had the inscription “Cornelius the Martyr.” The find was carefully examined. It turned out to be part of a tombstone from the grave of Pontiff Cornelius, who lived in the 3rd century. after the birth of Christ. Tortured to death in 253, he was buried in a country cave. This was the beginning of the search for ancient burials.
Now we have discovered about 60 such burials. The origin of the word “catacombs” is attributed to the name of the area where the cemetery was located. There is no confirmation of this, but all the tombs received this name. Ancient city literally surrounded by them. If extended in a single row, their length would exceed 500 km. The first appeared in the pre-Christian period.
The Romans more often burned their dead outside the city limits. Christians, having adopted Jewish customs, interred them. This is how Lazarus, resurrected by the Lord, was buried, and Christ, wrapped in a shroud, was laid in the cave after Golgotha. The dead were placed in a niche, with a slab placed on top. Some graves were distinguished by installed stone sarcophagi. The catacombs were given the names of the great martyrs.
Time passed, the grottoes were occupied large territory, becoming intricate deep labyrinths interconnected narrow passages. During the period of persecution of Christians, the dwellings of the dead became a reliable shelter for the living. The first temples were formed in the deep depths of the earth, where ancient believers ate spiritual food. The Resurrection of the Lord gave confidence in the absence of death and great hope of eternal, cloudless life. The burial places of people who took a step into eternity became for the living the door to the kingdom of heaven.

Meaningful wall paintings

The walls in the dungeons were painted with various frescoes. They were the first masterpieces of ancient Christian art. Without looking at the persecution, the images do not have scenes of martyrdom, and the epitaphs are devoid of traces of resentment, although the majority died at the hands of the persecutors. There are only words calling on the Almighty.
The intertwined stories of the Old Testament with numerous Gospel images convey to descendants the concept of good and evil, show the difference between truth and lies, life and death. The depictions of Adam and Eve, who committed original sin, are located next to a white lily flower - a symbol of purity. The soul that truly knew God was symbolically depicted as a bird. With a glance, full of love, Christ looks from the walls in the guise of a shepherd, carrying a lamb on his shoulders, symbolizing the lost human soul. The Son of God was depicted as a vine, where the branches are those who believed in him. His words: “I am the true vine, and my father is the vinedresser,” call to follow him. Symbolic images were firmly entrenched in the art of all subsequent centuries.
Emperor Constantine the Great, by his decree of 313 on the recognition of the Christian religion, freed believers from oppression. The prayerful chanting of the Lord was transferred from the dungeon to the spacious vaults of the above-ground light temples.

Largest burials

The largest underground tombs of the capital are rightfully recognized as the catacombs of St. Callistus, located on the Appian Way, along which Roman legionnaires once walked for another victory, where the Apostle Peter met Christ. Here is the stone tomb of Romulus, the Roman Cain who killed his twin brother. 20 km long, they accommodate 170 thousand burials. Four of them are visited today.
When persecution became a thing of the past, there was no longer any need to sneak to the dead. Pontiff Damasius constructed a staircase that provided access to the tombs. In its lower part, the hallways are greeted by the Good Shepherd, reminding of the freedom of choice given to everyone living on earth. He is ready to lend a helping hand to a lost person.

Crypt dads

It is considered the center, which was surrounded, growing, by others. In the 3rd century. turned into the tomb of bishops. The room is rectangular in shape, quite spacious, supported by columns with beautiful carved capitals holding up the vault. Nine metropolitan pontiffs and eight non-resident pontiffs found peace here. Six names remained preserved: Pontian, who finished life path in the mines, Anter - his successor, who died within the walls of the prison, Fabian, beheaded during the reign of Decius, Lucius and Eutyches. All of them were great martyrs. Their relics were transferred to different churches in the capital, where they are preserved to this day.

The resting place of the martyr Cecilia

This is a fairly spacious room, with a niche on the left side where her sarcophagus was installed. Paschal I decided to redirect her relics to the capital, but could not find her. Exhausted, he turned to her for help in a dream; the woman indicated the exact location. Only one wall separated him from the tomb. After this, the remains were safely transferred to the Basilica of Santa Cecilia in Trastevere, dedicated to Cecilia. While rebuilding the church, the sarcophagus was opened. The eyes did not believe the miracle they saw: the body remained incorrupt. After looking at the body, the amazed sculptor Stefano Maderno made a statue depicting Caecilia in the position in which she lay in the sarcophagus. The crypt contains a copy.
Why was she tortured to death? Born from a noble family youth believed in the teachings of Christ. She converted her husband and brought many who believed in him to God, for which they decided to execute the woman. Having placed her in a hot bath, the torturers wanted to kill her in such a terrible way, but three days later they found her alive. Then they decided to cut off the head. The executioner struck several times, but was unable to cut him off immediately. Being mortally wounded and half alive, she continued to preach the faith of Christ, trying to convert those present to it. She succeeded.
A cross rises above her grave, around it two angels and three martyrs froze in sorrow: Polikam, Sebastian and Quirinus. There are also images of Christ and the martyr Pope Urban I.

Cubes of the Mysteries

Designed for one family, consisting of five compartments. Frescoes telling about the sacrament of baptism are well preserved here. The same ritual performed by John the Baptist in the waters of the Jordan is depicted, striking the imagination with the power of faith. Jonah, rescued from the belly of a huge fish, “watches” the newcomers. There is a staircase along which the murdered bishops were secretly brought to rest.

Section of Blessed Miltiades

It is adjacent to the cubes of the Sacraments. Formed in the 2nd century, it became a connecting bridge leading to the crypt of Lucina - the resting place of the soul of the martyr Pope Cornelius. He is rarely mentioned by historical sources. He spent too much time as pontiff short term, a little over two years. On icons he is depicted with a cow's horn, he is the patron saint of animals, and he healed the unfortunate from many diseases. Here you can see the radiance of the phoenix, signifying the death of the flesh and eternal life in Christ, doves symbolizing the Holy Spirit, fish, a bird drinking from a cup, which personifies the soul that has found solace in God.
People perceive these sacred places differently. For a cold person who has visited dark, damp vaults, they will remain so. A completely different impression will be made on a thinking and understanding person. Numerous corridors will tell about a handful of people who passionately loved life, but died for their faith, blessing the Lord, praying for their enemies. Fate destined this handful to carry out the greatest revolution in the world - to destroy paganism. Their victory lies in fiery love and fortitude. And with faith in the heart and great love everything is available to a person.