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VIA ARDEATINA
It began from the gate of the same name located in the Aurelian 'Wall between the gates of St. Sebastian and St. Paul but in an area immediately outside the urban zone slightly more to the right than the actual path we see now.
The only catacomb actually on this road is the catacomb of Domitilla. Further ahead is the suburbicarian cemetery of the «Nunziatella». The catacombs of Basileus or of Sts. Mark and Marcellianus, of Balbina or St. Mark (?) and a plot of unidentified martyrs are located in this area but are more between the Via Ardeatina and the Via Appia rather than being exactly on the sides of the Via Ardeatina.
CEMETERY OF DOMITILLA
Flavia Domitilla was definitely the member of an imperial family who, according to the inscriptions we find, owned the land on which the cemetery was built. Her precise historical identity however, is somewhat controversial. The Flavian family had two important members with the same name. The first was the wife of the consul Titus Flavius Clemente who was condemned to death in 95 A.D. by Domitian, perhaps for Christianity and perhaps not. The second we learn about from St. Jerome who tells us of a daughter of the sister of this same consul, who was exiled to the island of Ponza. Toward the end of the 4th century, the widow Paula testified to having seen the small cell in which she had suffered martyrdom.
Besides the name Domitilla, the catacomb was also known under the names of Sts. Nereus and Achilleus. These two names are mentioned in famous epigrams not only by Damasus but also by St. Petronilla, the legendary spiritual daughter of St. Peter.
This cemetery is one of the oldest and largest in the entire complex of underground cemeteries in Rome.
There is a modern staircase to the side of the entrance which leads into the vestibule of a large basilica with three naves. It was erected above the tombs of Sts. Nereus and Achelleus between 390 and 395 A.D, replacing a smaller one in the opposite direction. In the vestibule we can admire both Christian and Pagan sarcophagi and on the
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wall facing the naves a reconstruction of the inscription of Iamasus. The inside of the basilica is fairly well preserved with almost all of the original columns, remains of the «Schola Caniorum» and, in the apse, the niche with the episcopal chair dated the 12th of May in a year near the end of the 6th century. Pope Gregory the Great tells us of the great sorrow he felt as he watched the invading armies loot and destroy and the misery wrought by famine and plague.
In the center of the apse, directly above the tombs of the martyrs was the altar with
a marble ciborium. Unfortunately only fragments remain. One of the most precious items is a large column about 25cm. in diameter. A carved scene shows us the martyrdom of a saint. His name is shown on an inscription directly above: Acillevs. Monuments of this type are extremely rare in Christian art.
Near the altar we still find a large marble plate with raised edges. At one time it was placed near the tombs of the martyrs and was called a «lanx» or tray of oil since so many oil lamps were placed on it and burned constantly in veneration of the martyrs.
Behind the apse there is a cubicle from the 4th century. The fresco has great interest only because of the central figure. The inscriptions at the sides of the figures tell us that the central one is St. PetroniHa who is shown in an ethereal setting leading one of the dead, Veneranda, to the gates of Heaven. |
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