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Domitilla’s catacombs, tombs along the consular roads.

Posted on 12 April 2010

Domitilla’s catacombs, tombs along the consular roads.
Roman catacombs are a big example of how the roman civilization was managing its funerary operations and they give key elements to understand the difficult path of Christianity, as many of these underground passages acted as refuges for the first Christians.
In Via delle Sette Chiese, in Ardeatina area, you can find these very antiques catacombs containing a very important part of Roman History and mostly of Christianity. Domitilla’s catacombs are also known as Saints Nereo and Achilleo’s Catacombs and were built around III century.
The first part, built in the III century, represented a domestic sepulcre, belonging to Domitilla, Consul Flavio Clement’s nephiew or wife. The Consul was killed under Domiziano’s order. This first part was later expanded durinf the IV and V century, making it as the lasgest Rome’s catacombs. The first place to be visited by descending the stairs is the Basilica dedicated to Saints Nereo and Achilleo. This Basilica has a strange history, being built and consacrated in 390 D.C. On one of the two Saints’ grave and it was completed renewd in 897 D.C. Due to an earthquake which distroyed it all. Actually the Basilica, is composed by three aisles divided by four columbs in each side, with the entrance to the catacombs at the very end. The catacombs, as we said, are very big and goes for various Kilometers in the underground. These tunnels had different funcionts in time, it was at the beginning a place of burial, where deaths were celebrated and remebered with the ritual ceremonies, then they became real sactuaries in the underground dedicated to the cult of martirs and their commemoration.
In the same area there are, beyond Domitilla’s, other catacombs. These galleries in the underground were totally abandoned for many centuries, in fact, only in XVI century they were discovered. Later in 1600 Antonio Bosio and Giovanni Battista de Rossi explored the galleries in their total extension but only in the 50s many catacombs have been restored and opened to the public for the visits, which can be done every day except on tuesdays. Visits cost € 8,00 for the entire ticket and € 5,00 for thre reduced one.