THE CATACOMBS

Our tour included a visit to the Catacombs of St Callixtus (San Callisto) – the largest of Rome’s catacombs.

The Catacombs of the Appian Way are essentially the underground graveyards of the first Christians in Rome, who had to bury their dead outside of the city. Even as early as the 5^th century BC, burials within the city walls were forbidden, so tombs were built on the outskirts of Rome. As an important consular road connecting Rome with the south, the Appian Way was a popular spot for burials.

While many Romans built elaborate tombs by the roadside, the Christians buried their dead in labyrinthine catacombs. Miles of underground tunnels were built by digging through the soft tufa stone, providing burial space for saints and martyrs as well as countless ordinary Christians.

The catacombs we were visiting was named after the deacon St. Callixtus who, at the beginning of the 3rd century AD, was assigned by Pope Zephyrinus to the administration of the cemetery. St. Callixtus became the Bishop of Rome in 217 BC.  Once Christianity became dominant in Rome they no longer had to bury the dead secretly in these catacombs, so they were stopped being used and became forgotten.

The catacombs were rediscovered in the 16th century by Antonio Bosio, who nearly ended up among the dead himself when he got lost in the never-ending tunnels. As there were many famous saints were buried in the catacombs they became a place of pilgrimage. It became quite dangerous to accommodate all the pilgrims in the narrow passage ways of the catacombs so most famous saints were later moved. This ended most of the visitors to the catacombs.

Today, the catacombs have once again become a major tourist destination, mainly for the curious like ourselves rather than religious devotees. The tunnels that are accessible today on catacomb tours are only a fraction of the total catacombs, which stretch for miles. And even then, archaeologists believe that there are parts of the catacombs that still remain hidden. The full extent of the catacombs may never be known.

We were met by our tour guide, a fervent practising priest with seemingly evangelistic intent. This said he was extremely enthusiastic and knowledgeable about the history and theology associated with the catacombs. Before descending into the narrow passages below he gave us a lesson on the symbols we would come across during our tour and their meaning.

It was a very hot and humid day so it was a really pleasant relief to climb down the steps into the tombs. The passageways were very narrow and the anterooms and crypts were small – we had a large group on our tour so it was all about following the leader and don’t get lost (this is not something you’d want to do down there!). Aligning the walls of the catacombs were the spaces that once had been occupied by bodies. The practise was to inter these bodies in these cavities and seal them in. Over the years these seal haves been broken and bones removed, so today in these catacombs you will not see any remain of the dead (they are all safely placed elsewhere to avoid further desecration).

The tour was fascinating as we were taken back to the times of ancient Rome when the Christians were persecuted. This persecution led to many martyrs and consequently saints whose remains were later placed in these tombs. What is incredible is the scale of these catacombs – they literally run for miles and go down several levels. Families were typically buried together over many generations so the people who ran these cemeteries had to know where the tombs of these families were. They had no maps so the information was passed by word of mouth over many centuries.

The catacombs are still revered by Christians and some of the crypts have been turned into mini-chapels where services are still held to this day. It was in one of these chapels that our 90-minute tour ended (the time had flown by) and our father/guide gave his final sermon. Karen was worried that we’d have to renounce all sins and renew our faith before he’d pass on the secret on how to get to the exit. No worries on that front, as we were soon above ground and returned to the sweltering summer heat.