Underground Rome

According to the archaeologists only 10% of the underground Rome has been discovered yet. Beneath Rome there are hidden many secrets of the bygone ages but by following the oldest Roman road, Via Appia, we can enter the underground city and go back to the time of the first Christians. Archaeologists know today about 64 catacomb complexes but they claim that there could be many more. The two catacombs complexes are unbelievably large and are located on Via Appia - the Catacombs of St. Sebastian and Catacombs of St. Callixtus. The second ones are larger and the corridors are approximately 20 kilometers long. There were buried around a half million dead, including fifty martyrs and sixteen popes.

source:https://opusdei.org/pl-pl/article/katakumby-sw-kaliksta/

HISTORY OF CATACOMBS

In the 5th century B.C. a law was introduced that forbade burying the dead in the city. The Romans burnt the bodies of the dead but some buried them on their property. Therefore the burial places were established outside the city and at the beginning they were pagan but later also Christian. Christians called these places using the Greek term - koimeterion – and from it a Latin word coemeterium derived. Initially, the Catacombs of St. Callixtus consisted of two parallel corridors and, according to the archaeologists, over 38,000 dead were buried there each year in the 3rd century. With time, new and deeper levels were created.

In the second century, the martyr Cecilia, who was beheaded for converting to Christianity, was buried there in the catacombs. We have the opportunity to see the figure of St. Cecilia which was immortalized in 1600 by Stefano Maderno. The figure is in the place where used to be her body.

source:https://www.visitlazio.com/web/en/luoghi/the-catacombs-of-st-callixtus/

MISSING BODIES

Why there are no more bodies in the catacombs? This happened because of the desire to have a relic of some saint or martyr. In the first centuries of Christianity it was appropriate to have a relic that could be the foundation for a new church. Therefore, fragments of saints' remains were spreading all over Europe. Therefore, already in the 9^th century over 2,000 of bodies were taken and placed in the church of St. Praxedes. Partially emptied of bodies catacombs slowly fell into oblivion. However, in the 16^th century Antonio Bosio decided to rediscover the Catacombs of St. Callixtus – some of the sarcophagi that were discovered by him are now in the Vatican Museums. Unfortunately, the book published after his death reawakened the treasure hunters who began to descend to the underworld. They looked for antiques, took marble elements and, after emptying the richer sarcophagi, they sold them to the aristocrats who used them as decorations in their gardens. The relics were also taken from there again. In the result, at the 16^th century pope forbade entering in the catacombs and taking relics under the penalty of a curse.

In the 19^th century Giovanni Battista de Rossi (called the father of modern Christian archeology) came across the catacombs of St. Callixtus and had a possibility to admire the paintings on walls. At that time to the neighboring Catacombs of St. Sebastian were coming numerous travelers. Unfortunately, during discovering the catacombs and opening the sarcophagi many bones crumbled. In the 1980’ the remaining bodies were taken to deeper and inaccessible tunnels.  

The Catacombs of St. Callixtus are under the care of the Vatican Museum and most of the tour guides are clergymen. Catacombs are prepared to be guided in thirty six languages, including Polish. When going to the underground, remember that the temperature drops there. Although, you never know if the chills on your back are caused by the low temperature or the atmosphere of this place. Who knows?