Today let's to talk again about the catacombs, that fascinating underground network of galleries also used by Christian communities as burial places from the 2nd to the 4th-5th century AD. Last week, in the first part, your tourist guide gave you a brief overview to understand the origin of the catacombs of Rome, outlining in part a common evolution. Nowadays we are used to think of the catacombs as underground places where death was the main character. To some extent, this is true, considering that they were actual cemeteries. However, the catacombs were actually the very first real opportunity for the newborn Christian community to find a common culture, art, and sense of belonging. Let's explore something more together.

For centuries, the catacombs were the chosen areas for burying the dead but, after the advent of Constantine and Theodosius, who in 380 AD established that the Christian religion should be the only one allowed in the Empire, things changed significantly. Since the 4th century, thanks mainly to pope Damasus, the worship of martyrs developed rapidly. This led not only to the renovation of the catacombs, with the creation of actual mausoleums, but also to a new and vibrant artistic decoration, especially pictorial, of the catacombs. Initially, Christians used to insert symbols here and there (like the fish or the anchor) related to Jesus and, above all, to the concept of Salvation. In a dark time like that of persecutions, they wanted to strengthen the sense of community by remembering what lies beyond earthly life. For this reason, in addition to such symbols, areas were often frescoed with scenes from the Old Testament that focused on Salvation (Moses striking the rock to bring out water or the story of Jonah). The Passion of Christ or lives of saints were never depicted (mindful of the rejection of any kind of idol in icons typical of the Jewish religion). The saints, especially St. Peter and St. Paul, only appeared for the first time at the end of the 3rd century. Apparently, following the persecutions of Valerian in the mid-3rd century AD, the mortal remains of the two were temporarily transferred to the Catacombs of San Sebastiano, where today the graffiti left by pilgrims are still clearly visible to this day. Later, with the true victory of Christianity and the construction of the first churches and basilicas, especially regarding martyrs, the catacombs were abandoned. The martyrs were repeatedly transferred and there was no longer any sense in keeping alive those underground galleries that so vividly recall the darkest moments of the Christian community in Rome. In fact, walking through the underground tunnels today, we see how the loculi (the most common being arcosolia) are empty, without any remains inside. We don't even have traces of closures (sometimes marble slabs engraved with the names of the deceased), as everything has been lost or, worse, stolen. We must assume that there were numerous tomb raiders who visited the catacombs to collect as much as possible. Just as today, perhaps we have difficulty perceiving the true atmosphere that was present in these underground areas, considering that the light was emitted by small oil lamps, made of terracotta, which could only last a few hours before going out. 

Perhaps even from here we have a dark image of the catacombs today, although, in my opinion, we should simply remember how they were nothing but the hesitant beginning of what would later profoundly change Rome and beyond. Here began the true worship of Christians, the attention towards those very first martyrs who gave their lives, during some of the persecutions against them, to safeguard their own faith. Entering a catacomb (among which I mention that of Saints Peter and Marcellinus, San Callisto, or Santa Priscilla), means entering into intimate contact with that community, initially composed of ordinary people, probably, who later gave a different face to the Eternal City.